Casualties
by Annilaia
Summary: Sequel to Just the Summer. On the anniversary of her death Bella returns to Forks and meets someone she never would have imagined possible. Just when things start to look better, they both become the targets of one vampire's plot for revenge.
1. In Fate's Hands

**A/N: Here is the Sequel to Just the Summer, now edited so that it is actually the sequel, and not the threequel like it used to be! Hope you enjoy it- it's one of my favourites!  
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**I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with the song title chapter title thing. But we'll see. If this chapter title is one, then they all will be, most likely…**

**Yeah it is. This title is by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.**

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Casualties**

**Chapter One: In Fate's Hands**

I glanced out of the window of the plane, watching all the clouds rolling by. I smiled and put my hand against the window, imagining if I could touch them. Edward chuckled next to me and I looked at him over my shoulder he smiled at me and turned in his seat to face me. I grinned at him widely and winked, turning back to the clouds.

They had begun to change slowly to shades of pink and purple. It looked amazing from up here. I heaved a heavy sigh of relaxation and smiled at them. They were all so beautiful. I was barely aware of the plane landing until Edward tapped my shoulder, his face wonderfully close to mine as he whispered in my ear.

We stood up, left first class and walked off the plane. The rest of our family was meeting us here in a few days; Edward and I were leaving early. Today was the anniversary.

It was a special kind, not one you would expect to celebrate. Today was the anniversary of my death. The day that I had become a full vampire and left my family behind. Everyone I had known thought I had died from a disease, one they couldn't figure out. That had been almost twenty years ago.

It had been fifteen years since we left England where we had spent five years on our honeymoon. Edward and I drove in silence as we made our way from Seattle towards the rainy town of Forks. It was a place I referred to now as my hometown. Ever since meeting Edward there, I had been hooked. The sunny Phoenix meant nothing now, I could never go back. But this was the place where we had met and fell in love.

I stared at the window, water flowing over the glass in small streams. It was a sight I was all too used to by now. Twenty years of basic sunless-ness didn't exactly give you the opportunity to see much else. I smiled after hours had passed when I saw the sign, welcoming us to Forks. The rain lessened, to my surprise, and finally stopped. However, the muted white daylight that shone through wasn't strong enough to reveal us for what we were.

That wouldn't have been at _all_ uncomfortable.

Edward grinned at me when he saw my delight at being back home. We hadn't come here in a very long time, now we were making plans here to make another home in British Columbia. We would stay here until we were sure it was okay to go up there. This was also a perfect opportunity for me to see how my father was.

Rather than stopping at the house we went straight for the cemetery, a tradition since we had begun coming back here. Edward stopped the car in front of the iron gates and let me get out on my own. I met him at the hood of the car and he smiled beautifully, holding onto my hand as we walked through the headstones. We found the place where I was buried and I felt a small tinge of sadness at seeing it again.

I had never once regretted that Edward had changed me. If he hadn't, I would have lost everyone. At least now I had him; that was all that mattered. I read the words on my headstone and smiled. Loved by many, a loving daughter. It seemed a little sad, a girl of seventeen buried by all these other people who had lived out a full life. But something was off. There was a headstone next to mine.

_Charlie Swan_

_Loving Father, Devoted Husband_

My breath hitched in my throat and I cried in fright. My hand was holding tightly onto Edward and my knees gave away. I fell down to the soft earth, my hand covering my mouth to keep from screaming. Edward bent down next to me and held me tightly to him. He whispered in my ear, soothing words that helped me calm down while I stared at my father's headstone and sobbed.

"Wh-who are you?" A timid voice asked from behind us. I turned my head slowly, heard Edward catch his breath. He had seen who was behind us before I could, he recognized him somehow. It was easy to understand where.

Behind us, looking frightened and confused was a young Charlie. He was handsome, with dark hair and features that looked so much like my fathers, yet something about his face reminded me of myself. He was tall, with medium built muscles. His dark waves fell in front of his eyes and tickled the bridge of his nose. Edward and I stood up slowly, not sure of who this being was.

"Who are _you?_" I asked. "You look just like Charlie." The boy nodded. He couldn't be older than seventeen. Unless Charlie had gone back in time, it definitely was _not_ him.

"I'm his son, Andrew Swan." I gasped and clamped my hand over my mouth. Edward's jaw dropped and I didn't know what to do next. "You look like Bella," he said quietly. "But, that's impossible, she's sleeping right there next to you. You look like her boyfriend," Andrew was speaking to Edward. "He loved her a lot, had to leave once she died."

I walked up to him slowly, studying his features. He was most assuredly my father's son, but not my mother's. The similar features were ones I had inherited from Charlie. Andrew was taller than me, much to my dismay. Pretty soon he'd be my _older_ brother. In human years, anyway.

"What would you say if I _was_ Bella?" I asked quietly, not wanting to be without this boy.

"I'd say…" he thought for a while and grinned. "'Hi, I'm your brother.'"

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A/N: Yay! I love Andy, he's a sweetie. So, I hope this plot interests some people. And OMGGGGG DID ANYONE SEE THE SNIPPET FROM ECLIPSE ON STEPHANIE'S SITE??? WHOA. Hahahhaaaa. Yeah. So please, review. I'm sorry if it sucks Im AMAZINGLY sick and tired.**


	2. Being Your Walls

**A/N: Ugh. I really don't want to write right now, but I have nothing else to do. I'm super sick. I went to school, and carried a box of tissues with me. It was nooo fun. Did I mention I have red hair now? I like it. :D. Yay. Um…. Well I don't have much else to say except that I'm probably not going to be happy with this by the time this chapter is done.**

**This title is by Armor for Sleep**

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Chapter Two: Being Your Walls**

"So how exactly are you my sister," he said after a chuckle from Edward and me. I hesitated, my mouth opening and closing in uncertainty. I looked down to my feet, at a loss for what to say.

Edward stepped up and put a hand on my shoulder. "This is going to take a bit of explaining. Would you mind if we went somewhere more appropriate?" Andrew shook his head.

"You can come to my house if you want, if it helps make me understand any better." I nodded and smiled at him. We got into Edward's car; Andrew drove down the street on his bike.

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"What the hell do you mean, vampires?!" he nearly screamed. I winced and flinched backward. Edward leaned forward looking serious. Andrew shut his mouth quickly then. He knew this was no joke. Over the past hour we had explained just what we were. It seemed a little bit much, having only discovered this new member of my family. But I had longed for some reminder of my past life. After losing Charlie, I thought it was all gone. Andrew was the only part of him I had left, he was my brother. I loved him, in a sense.

"We mean everything we've said," Edward murmured. Andrew looked panicked from Edward to me. I nodded, my face expressionless.

"But vampires are just in stories, aren't they? They can't be real." I stood up and pushed Andrews against my chest, above my breasts. I heard his breath catch in his throat when there was no heartbeat. He pulled back and looked at me terrified. "But you are the good guys, right?" I giggled and nodded, sitting back down. "That's nuts…" Edward looked at me and grinned.

_I like him_, he thought. _He reminds me a little of you._ I grinned. There was nothing he could have said then that would have made me happier.

"So if you've been alive all this time, then what's where you're supposed to be buried?" I shrugged and smiled at him.

"Nothing. There's an empty coffin that's probably rotting by now. Or started to at least." He raised his eyebrows in that way that meant impressed but never said anything else. I looked around the living room. It had changed a bit, more modernized. There were pictures all over the wall. Andrew and Charlie and the woman I was guessing he had married. There were even pictures of me, all of the ones that were in the photo album the Cullens had given me many summers ago. The ones of Edward were there, and us together. They were all showcased beautifully, a reminder of my human days.

It made me happy that I hadn't been forgotten, that even though I had been gone five years, Andrew still knew me, even loved me. I felt like I had known him for so long, he was just like me. He was clumsy, a gift from our father, but still so sweet and kind. Even if he had a short temper, that was just more proof of Charlie inside of him.

Edward and I looked up at the same time, our ears both registering the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. We looked at Andrew. He heard it a few moment's later. He went to the window and looked out.

"My mom is home," he said casually and then turned around and saw us there horrorstricken. "Uh… you guys can go in my room! I'll be there in a minute." We nodded and raced up the stairs before he could think over what he had just said.

I knew for a fact that there were only two bedrooms in this house. One was Charlie's, at the end of the hall. It was the biggest, but still nothing spectacular. The other had been mine. While I never expected Charlie to change anything, I hadn't expected Andrew either.

It was definitely changed. The room was a blood red with a black border around the middle. Covering the walls were different posters and magazine clippings. There was a desk in one corner, and a small bed next to the window. The only reminder of my old room was a brown and orange flower next to the window frame from when Charlie and I had overhauled it.

I sat down on my brother's comfortable bed. Edward smiled and sat next to me.

"This brings back memories," he whispered. "Even if it isn't the same room." I grinned at my eyes traveled down to his lips.

"What kind of memories?" I inquired. Edward grinned and shook his head.

"I feel old thinking about it. When I snuck in your room at night; that seems like a very childish thing of me to have done." I giggled and kissed him quickly.

"I didn't mind." Edward growled playfully and pushed me onto the bed, making us both laugh at his actions. He kissed me back and we lay there, listening downstairs.

Andrew's mother walked in. It felt awkward to say it like that. I guess my stepmother was better, but I didn't even know her name. I heard her keys jungle as she dropped them somewhere and then walked into the living room.

"Hey honey!" she said cheerfully. "How was your day?" I bit my lip. Would he keep us secret? I knew for a fact a secret as big as this one was difficult to have.

"Oh, nothing much. I finished my work in school and then went to see Bella and Dad." I heard the couch squeak, she had sat down next to him.

"That's right, it happened today right?" There was no answer. "Your poor father. He always seemed so upset now. At least he can see her again, right?" I heard her kiss his forehead. My stomach felt sick and I squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted my father now more than I ever had over the past twenty years. Edward rubbed my stomach with his soft hand and kissed my ear.

"Anything exciting happen?" she asked jokingly. My eyes shot open and there was an uncomfortable pause. Uncomfortable for us anyway.

Andrew's voice seemed strained. "Not really. Just came home and watched TV." She laughed and stood up, asking him what he wanted for supper. I sighed in relief, just like Edward did against my hair.

A part of me felt a little guilty. I had always been shocked to learn that Edward heard every little sound in the house. Andrew didn't actually know that we were listening, he wasn't aware that the walls actually _did_ have ears.

We both heard him climbing over the stairs and straightened up. He came through the door and looked relieved to see us. I smiled and him and stood up.

"Andrew," I said breathily. "Thank you so much for not telling her about us." He grinned and shrugged, letting me hug him gently.

"It was nothing. I think she'd think I was insane if I had mentioned my sister coming back to life. And, it's just Andy. Andrew is a mouthful." I laughed and nodded. He wanted a shorter name, like me. I saw his cheeks flush as he thought of something, another trait in common. "Can we talk some more? I want to know more about you. We can't do it here though. I don't think Mom would appreciate me having two imaginary friends at seventeen." Edward laughed at that.

"We can go to our house," he said happily. I turned to him and smiled widely, letting out a big squeal. I jumped up, throwing my arms around his neck and kissed him quickly over and over.

"Ew," Andy said loudly enough for us. "Please, don't do that to me." I laughed again and apologized.

"We can go whenever you're ready," I said happily. Spending more time with him just made my mood increase. He nodded and smiled widely before running downstairs.

"Mom?" he asked nervously. She grunted for him to continue. "I was actually going to go over to Donyel's. We have an English project to do. I'll be home later tonight, okay?"

"That's fine honey, don't be too late. Remember, we have to go to the hospital tomorrow."

"I know, see you later." He came back up to the room and smiled at us satisfied. "Let's go." Edward grinned at him.

"We parked the car a little ways down the road. We'll come pick you up, just wait outside the door." Andy nodded and picked up his jacket before bounding back over the stairs. I took one last look around my former room and something unnaturally black and white caught my eye. I let go of Edward's hand and moved towards it. He followed close behind me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pressing his cheek against mine, his lips slightly inclined towards mine.

It was a picture, of the two of us. Both of us gasped when we looked at it. It was taken before I had gotten sick, both of us seventeen. It was a close up of us in the exact same position as now. I was smiling brightly at the camera while Edward was looking at my cheek, preparing to give it a kiss. I turned my head to him and saw him staring at me. I kissed him lightly and went towards the window.

Andy climbed into the car quickly and we drove away fast towards the house. "I'm glad you're not freaked out by all this," I said to him, hoping to sound casual.

Andy shrugged. "I've grown up knowing all about you. I feel like I've always known you. We have a lot in common actually." I smiled at him and then remembered something. It had been what his mother had said. I didn't have a problem with her. She sounded like a very kind woman with a soft, soothing voice. It reminded me of Esme.

"Why do you have to go to the hospital tomorrow?" I asked casually. Andy's face dropped and he looked out the window uneasily.

"Just some tests," he muttered quietly. I shrugged it off and turned back to look out the windshield. We were almost there.

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A/N: I can't believe I finished this. I feel sooooo yucky right now. Ugh. Everything that I wanted to happen in this chapter happened. Hooray. Now review!! Haha. I might have another chapter up tomorrow, or another story. It depends on my mood.**

**Oh, and everyone understands this chapter title, right? It's because Bella's image sort of protected him as a little boy, him growing up with a big sister of sorts, kind of protecting him to know how brave she was. ANND it's also because they can hear them, they're "in" his walls, like "the walls have ears". Yeah. **


	3. My Way Home Is Through You

**A/N: First off, thanks SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed. It made me happy. And, for those final little reviews on Transience, thanks a lot. That seemed to have been a good one, haha.**

**Today, I was terrified when I woke up. I _could not_ talk. My throat felt like someone was pinching it tightly, and it hurt to even breathe. Needless to say, I'm still _very_ sick. Today has been the worse so far, I haven't felt like this before in my life, and I've had a ton of flus/colds/strep throat to know. So this is for you, guys. And, mainly because I slept until two in the afternoon and there's nothing else I can really do.**

**Apparently I can't keep secrets in this story as well as in my other ones. SO many people guessed correctly what's on the go with Andy. DON'T LOOK AT THE REVIEW PAGES IF YOU DON'T! One person even got it to a T. You guys are making me sad. Not to mention, I've got people on MSN fighting with me to stop what's going to happen in this story. (HAHAHAsasha,donyel,niki –EVILGLARE-)**

**Oh mys. Maybe one day I shall explain, but not today. For Now I have to remember what's even going to happen in this chapter…**

**This title is by My Chemical Romance**

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**Chapter Three: My Way Home Is Through You**

When we pulled up Andy almost fell out of the backseat. I guess Edward's driving was a bit much for him, like it had been for me. He scrambled back to his feet quickly and I watched as his fear turned into awe when he looked up at our big white house.

"Why haven't I seen this before?" he asked weakly. Edward looked at me and we both grinned.

"This isn't exactly the kind of place humans tend to come around," he said softly before wrapping his arm around my waist. We turned and walked up to the porch, listening for Andy's footsteps behind us. Edward took in a deep breath before unlocking the door, letting in swing open before him. I couldn't help but smile as I walked inside.

Everything was as we left it. Sure, it was covered in dust, but it was still home. I walked inside and pulled the sheet off the piano to reveal a clean surface for playing. Then, I moved into the living room while Edward shut the door behind my brother. _My_ brother. That feels so good to say. I'd never been given that chance before as a human.

The couches and chair were cleaned off, I used a sheet to wipe dust from the coffee and side tables. Everything was almost as good as new. I motioned for Andy to sit down. He did so, but his eyes were glued to the walls, ceiling. Everything. It reminded me of my first reaction to the place, it was understandable, so big and beautiful.

"So," I said, sitting down next to Edward on a loveseat opposite Andy. "What else did you want to know?" Andy blushed a little and I smiled. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Well, you've told me all these things about vampires, your history, eating habits… but what about all those stereotypes?" I smiled again. I had asked the same thing, once.

"They're not true," I began, just as Edward's phone was ringing. "Not one. Well, I guess there's something to the whole sunlight deal. That's why we live in rainy places." Andy nodded, understanding. He was a smart kid.

Edward stood up, his cell phone in his hand. He looked at me apologetically _Alice,_ he thought. I smiled and nodded, watching him head outside. Andy watched me the entire time.

"So what's the story with you guys?" he asked. I was confused; he read it on my face, too. "How did you meet?"

"When I came here to visit our Dad one summer, he introduced me to Edward's family. I thought Edward was really nice, and handsome, he thought my blood smelt delicious. We spent more and more time together thanks to Alice. She had a vision of us being a couple. Eventually we were inseparable. Until the summer was over." Andy seemed interested, then he face went blank, he screwed it up in confusion.

"Wait, what? Vision?" I nodded.

"When you get changed into a vampire certain characteristics of your human life are carried over. We don't know much about Alice's human life, but we think that she might have actually had visions as a human, when she was changed they intensified. It's happened to others of us too."

"Like who?" Andy prompted. I grinned.

"Alice's husband, Jasper, was really charismatic. That was brought over as an ability. He can feel people's emotions, change them too. He could get a crowd of crying people in a cheer, happy and dancing in seconds." Andy was impressed. "Edward too. He can read minds. As a human he was able to read people well, through their expressions and actions. Now he can actually _read_ people." Andy laughed.

"What about you?" he questioned.

"I can read Edward's mind, and he can read mine now, too. When I was alive I hated the smell of blood, it made me sick, so I don't really have an attraction to human blood like the others now, too."

"You said Edward can read your mind _now,_ could he not before?"

I shook my head. "Apparently I was a very strange human. He couldn't read my mind or my actions correctly. So, when I was changed we could read _each others_ mind, as a sort of gift, Carlisle guesses." Andy nodded slowly, then jumped up a little.

"Finish with the story," he said eagerly and I smiled, nodding.

"I went back to Phoenix with my mother and Charlie came to visit me. I hadn't seen Edward in two years and had no way to contact him. So; when I went to live with Charlie it was partially in hopes of seeing him. And I did. That's really it, a shortened version at least. When I got sick, Edward changed me."

"Why?" Andy said. It was so quick, serious. It took me off guard. I smiled and looked down at my fingers between my knees.

"Andy, if Edward hadn't changed me then I wouldn't have had anyone. I would've gone somewhere and found people I didn't know, or no one at all. If he hadn't changed me, no one would have me. It would've hurt Charlie _and_ all the Cullens. At least this way, one group is happy and I am too. I missed our father so much, but I'm glad I am what I am." Andy smiled and nodded.

"Dad never really thought you were dead," he said softly. My eyes widened. "He said he saw you, the day the Cullens left town. He saw you get into one of their cars, wave and leave with them. So, he wasn't really sad. He said he knew you were happy and in 'a better place'." He chuckled a little and I felt my lip quiver. So he had seen me. That was good. I never wanted to leave him upset.

"Bella," Andy began again. "I think it's a good thing too that you were changed. Because, like… if Dad hadn't seen you leave, he might not have come outside for days or months. If he didn't do that, he wouldn't have met my Mom or had me. And, I guess that if I wasn't here, I'd never get to know my sister, and if I _was_ here, you wouldn't and that would suck." I laughed at how he ended it. It was so blunt, I thought that it was so _him_, but I hardly knew him.

"Tell me more about you," I said eagerly, leaning forward. "Who is this Donyel?" Andy blushed and I giggled. "Is she your _girrrrlfriend_?" He blushed harder, a furious shade of red, much more intense than the light pink before.

"Shut up," he muttered and I laughed even harder. "She's…. my friend. I've known her since we were little. Our mothers were friends and we've been ever since they forced us together in preschool." I laughed. It seemed like a cute image, to have a friend all that time. I'd never know.

"What's she look like?" I asked, leaning into my forearm, my hand over my shoulder. Andy smiled excitedly and sat up straight.

"Aw, she's _gorgeous_, really gorgeous girl. She's around your height, has short brown hair down to her shoulders, almost… and really pretty brown eyes. And then…" he made motions towards where her body would be if she were standing in front of him. Hands on her hips motions. I nodded quickly ushering him to move on. Nothing fazed him. "She's got a nice voice, soft but… strong, you know? And man, she's got a really good sense of humor, she can make you laugh and cry in a second. She's _so_ good at English and Biology, and she kicks my ass in gym all the time…" he trailed off a sighed, smiling at the end of it, fully satisfied.

I was smiling at him, just like he was at me. "You so like her," I said with a smile. Andy grinned but looked at his feet. I saw the redness return to his cheeks. Then he looked at me again and shook his head.

"I love her," he whispered. I straightened up, my eyes opened wide and my mouth ajar. 'Love' is quite the word, shouldn't be used lightly, in my opinion. I think Andy knew that, too. He didn't seem like he was taking this lightly.

"Have you told her?" I asked him seriously. He shook his head again, looking back down to his feet. "Why not? Don't you want to be with her or anything?" Andy looked up again, his brown eyes seemed excited, but sad.

"I want to, really, I do. I want nothing more than that… but I can't." I was confused, but he promptly looked away again. "It's… it's complicated…"

"What is?" I asked, moving onto the couch and putting my hand on his shoulder.

"My situation…" he seemed more depressed, I knew he didn't want to talk about it. But, Andy's my little brother. I loved him and I wanted to know.

"What's your situation?" I asked. He didn't reply. "Does it have to do with the hospital tests?" He nodded, a small nod but it was there. He looked up to me and I saw tears in his eyes, ready to spill over his cheek.

"I have leukemia," he said calmly. "Just like you had. That's what killed you, you know. I've had it since I was small."

My stomach dropped in a second, it was down at the floor, laughing at the sick feeling it left. It was that kind of feeling you get when something happens that you think is a joke that you want not to be real or to turn around. Like, if your mother wakes you up in the morning to tell you that your friend's dad has died, you spend five minutes running to their house even though it's not far away, but your eyes are so wet it's hard to see. Then, when you get there and see the family gathered around in pajamas, their eyes red because they've been crying so much, this is the only peace they get. And when your friend meets your eyes, not expecting to see you there, they start to cry again, and you really know its true. The sick feeling comes back.

That's what happened, in the span of about ten seconds. All that running and crying skipped over, bringing me straight back to sickness when I saw the look in Andy's eyes; the tears pooling in his eyes and their redness, the stone faced expression he was wearing, looking in my direction, but not in my eyes. I reached out, pulled him too me and let out one shuddering cry, and that was all it took. Andy broke down, sobbing over and over, letting the tears fall onto

I wrapped my arms around him tightly, but carefully. He clutched onto my shirt from the back and cried loudly. I cried with him. Edward walked in, but I barely registered him. He looked at us sadly and made his way towards the stairs.

_I'm here if you need me,_ he told me.

This shouldn't be happening. Not now, not to him, this beautiful boy in my arms. My beautiful baby brother. I would take any pain, any trouble, any procedure, any treatment away, put it all on myself if he didn't have to go through what I did. Even if I didn't have to go through seventeen _whole_ years of it, from the looks of him we both know what the end result will be.

Why is it every time things start to look out for the better, life drops a stupid metaphorical bomb on me and ruins it all? Happily involved with Edward: bakoom! Dead. Discover a brother who I adore: bakoom! Life threatening disease.

I hate you, life.

"Andy I'm sorry," I whispered. "This shouldn't happen to you. It should have stopped at me…" Andy shook his head and leaned back to look at me. His face was red, cheeks wet from the tears.

"It's not anyone's fault. I guess it runs in the family. I've been doing chemo treatments for years now, my hair's only just grown back any decent…" He pushed his hand through his wavy locks, then wiped the tears away. "I'm not doing it anymore, the chemo. I hated it. It made me feel worse. So, I'm trying other stuff." I choked on a sob as I watched him. He was so handsome, his hair thick and dark. I tried to imagine him lying in a bed with no hair at all. I didn't like it.

"How is it going… with the treatments?" I tried quietly. Andy shook his head. Again, he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"I don't think its working. And, I know no one else does either. Honestly? I don't think I have much time left. But that's better than living with this." My hand was over my mouth tightly to keep me from screaming out. I wished I could cry, to take some of it away.

"I'm going to help you, somehow," I told him, pulling him into another hug. "Edward's father is a really talented doctor. He's been doing it for two hundred years!" Andy laughed a little.

"He must be good then," I chuckled with him and we stood up together. I looked him over, brushed the tears off his cheeks. He looked me in the eyes. I saw him trying to gauge something in my expression. "No one knows, Bella. No one outside of Mom and me. You won't tell anyone, will you?" I shook my head and smiled.

"I don't know anyone to tell," I said jokingly. Andy laughed and we found ourselves walking towards the door.

"You can tell Edward. He has my approval. I _guess_ he's okay to marry you." I snorted at him and we both laughed again.

"He probably already knows," I told him. Tapping my ear I added: "Super senses." Andy nodded as if it was a simple thing that slipped his mind.

We climbed into the car and chatted about happy things on the way home. I watched Andy walk through the front door and smile. He was mine, my little brother. The only real family I had left.

"Home awful soon," his mother said. A clatter of dishes in the sink.

"There wasn't much left to do…" Andy said. There was a pause, a kiss on the cheek? And then he jogged up the stairs.

I pulled out, smiling carefully to keep myself from crying. Carlisle will know what to do. He has to. This disease can be beaten, right? I won't let him go. I won't, I won't. Not now that I've just gotten him.

I shut the door quietly, not wanting to disturb Edward, even if he had heard me. Music was playing in our room. I hung up my coat with a sigh and headed towards the staircase. Edward was already there, leaning against the railing, waiting for me.

"What's the matter?" he asked as I buried my face in his strong chest, letting myself cry out again in the comfort of his arms.

"Andy has leukemia, what I had when I died." Edward froze, grew quiet not knowing what to say. He sighed heavily and scooped me into his arms. I let him carry me upstairs, into our room where a piano was playing somewhere inside the stereo system.

Edward set me down on our bed, a new addition for his room in Forks, it had been there since we came back a year after my death. He lay down next to me and supported his head in his hand, leaning onto his elbow casually while playing with my hair.

"The others aren't coming until May, close to the end of the school year," he informed me. I nodded. "Carlisle said it might be okay if we went to school here, maybe just use different last names since not a lot of time has passed. It should be alright, though. I haven't heard anyone recognizable." I nodded and smiled, pulled his head down quickly into a kiss. He was shocked at first, but quickly relaxed, easing into the kiss like a professional. In my opinion, he was.

"He'll be okay," Edward whispered in between a kiss. I nodded and smiled.

"I'm not going to let him get hurt, I'm making that a promise. You can't break promises." Edward nodded. "I won't let anything happen to him." Edward smiled at kissed me again.

"I won't let anything happen to you, either."

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A/N: Well then. I'd imagine a few of you hate me right now. I WAS going to end this, directly after Andy's line of having leukemia, but I never. **

**I guess leukemia is okay for Bella's disease in Just The Summer. That's what I said it probably was, right? This is seven pages, originally it was supposed to stop at four, so you can't hate me too badly.**

**Andy's such a cutie… gosh. I wish he wasn't sick. But, the part of 'the sick feeling you get, like when a friends dad dies' that seriously happened to me, the entire part. My mom woke me up and my friends dad had died and she broke down when she saw me, so I know how bad shit can get. **

**What else… Donyel is Pirates OWNS you, in case I never mentioned it last chapter (too sick to remember) and…. Yeah. It wouldn't be too weird for Edward and Bella to go to school only twenty years later, right? I don't think so.**

**Honestly, if there's anyone still around, they've forgotten. I forget people so easily. Even if they are drop dead gorgeous. Twenty years is a long time, a whole other generation and they'd keep to themselves. I'm going to stop rambling. **

**So long and thanks for all the fish.**

**Er… review? Haha. Sorry. Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy reference there.**

**(The title is because Bella is getting to know things nowadays through Andy, she feels comfortable around him and vice versa. like... home haha. Or, if you're not big on symbolism Andy is USING HER FOR A RIDE HOME:O!!!! ahha no.)**


	4. Relax, Take It Easy

**A/N: Yay I feel basically better today! Haha so, I'm going to attempt writing this and see how good this goes.**

**I posted a new story last night 'Affection' a human Twilight (gasp). So, I think you should all check it out! And, I made changes to my Twilight cast, not to mention!!!! I added Andy:O! So go look at how pretty he is! Hahah**

**This title is by Mika**

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Chapter Four: Relax, Take it Easy**

"Come on Edward!" I urged. I was leaning on the bathroom door waiting impatiently for my husband to finish up.

"Why do we have to go to school?" he wailed. I grinned. He was acting like this just to make me cave, stay home with him.

"Because, _honey_, this way we have something to do while Andy is gone. If we leave this early then we can register and still surprise him." I felt my back go firmly against the door while I studied my nails, waiting for Edward to make the next move.

Which he did in complete silence, of course. Edward opened the door and I fell backwards straight into his arms. He grinned as he pressed his lips against my collarbone while I attempted to find my breath.

"Are you sure we can't just stay home today?" he murmured softly. I looked at his eyes and how dark they seemed under his lashes. "I have an idea of a few things we could do…" he trailed of before kissing my cheek and jaw. I grinned and turned my head towards him, making him kiss my lips. Before he could go any farther I straightened myself up from the dipped position he had me in and backed away a few steps.

I backed up into our bedroom door and turned the handle slowly. I bit my lip, making Edward shudder and move towards me excitedly. Seeing him clothed only in a towel could distract any person, especially me. However, I had grown so used to the sight I had built up a kind of immunity. As soon as Edward had backed me into the room I squirmed away and threw a shirt at him from a drawer along with a pair of dark jeans.

He looked at me horrified, as if clothes were the devil. "If I'm not wearing any then I shouldn't expect you to be either. And you _certainly_ shouldn't be trying to clothe me now." I laughed at him and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

Edward stepped out a moment later with a very surly expression painted across his face. I snorted at him as he crossed his arms over his chest and climbed down the stairs. I bit my lip and followed him. He looked really good and I really wouldn't have minded staying home with him all day, but I wanted to surprise Andy more. To my surprise he was wearing everything I had picked out for him. A tight fitting navy t-shirt that made his muscles stand out and the dark jeans looked too good on him. I was wearing a light short dress with a grey knit sweater over top. Edward had insisted on a pair of jeans since the dress _was_ too short and I'd attract too much attention from the male population.

"Edward," I started, reaching forward to grab his shirt. He paused for a second but shrugged out of my grasp.

"I'm not talking to you!" he said sarcastically, like a small boy. He walked outside in the cool winter morning and climbed into his car. I sighed and got in as well. I think it was the first time in twenty years that I opened my own door.

Edward didn't look at me the entire way to the school. When I turned on some of our older rock music and began dancing around in my seat he finally smiled and laughed but stared out the window, not daring to glance at me. I danced all the way to the school and when we pulled up he was laughing heartily but abruptly stopped once he realized I'd caught him.

I crossed my arms in anger at him, he was impossible to crack. I stormed ahead towards the main office, ready to get my schedule and anything else.

_Beautiful…_I heard. I stopped dead. I turned around and looked at Edward who was biting his lip and staring at me longingly. I grinned at him and then he realized he'd been caught in the act. He jerked to attention and scowled at me before walking quickly past. I caught his lips curling when he hurried by my side.

"Blocking you!" he sang, raising one finger before crossing his arms.

In the office there was a nervous young secretary who just about died when Edward walked in. Her heartbeat went out of control and I thought I was going to have to force Edward out of the room in order to save her. He walked up to her desk and looked back at me, shooting me a handsome grin. The secretary let out a sigh when he turned to her again.

"Yes?" she asked. There was an awkwardness to her tone, like she was trying to seduce him. "How may I help you?"

"Hi," Edward began, motioning behind his back for me to come up to him. "We're new students here and we need our schedules?"

She nodded with a big smile but eyed me carefully as I made my way up to him. "Your names?" she asked, turning to her computer with immaculate posture. Edward smiled again and took my hand once I was next to him. He looked down at me with those beautiful eyes, like he had this morning, completely smoldering me on purpose.

"Edward Masen and Isabella Swan," he said happily. She glanced up at our intertwined fingers and glared at me before typing at the computer. She passed Edward our schedules and smiled at him a little too strongly.

_He's _so_ gorgeous! If only he were a few years older. It's not that much of a difference is it? Oh I'm so glad I came into work today!_ She batted her eyelashes at him and I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of there. He grinned at me before I turned around and gave her a nasty glare. She returned my glance, but hers wavered. I was getting to her.

Edward was laughing at me by the time we had crossed the parking lot. _She bother you much?_ He asked and then laughed again. I refused to look at him. _I think she was very polite. Maybe I'll give her a call after._ I stopped dead and smacked him hard. He laughed louder as I moved away from him. I made a beeline for a boy who was very Mike Newton-esque.

"Oh no, Bella! Honey, come on!" Edward called, jogging after me. I grinned. He didn't like it much now that the tables were turned. I walked faster, keeping a good distance between Edward and me.

"Excuse me!" I called to the boy. He stopped and turned to me and seemed to freeze where he was. "Hi," I said when I caught up to him. "I'm new here and I was looking for my cousin. Andrew Swan? Do you know where he'd be?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah Andy, he has English first period so he'd probably be around that building with Donyel." I gave him a pretty smile.

"Oh, thanks so much, you were a real help!" Edward came up close behind me and grabbed my hand. He pulled me to his side and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Oh hi Edward," I said, looking up at him. I turned back to the guy in front of me. He seemed frightened with Edward glaring down at him. "Well, thanks again. Talk to you later!" With that I walked away, Edward glued to my side.

"I don't like you talking to other guys," he said softly. I grinned.

"I don't like you thinking about other girls," I muttered, still not looking at him. Edward stopped walking and spun me around to face him. I looked up at him and he was watching my face seriously.

"You're the only girl for me, Bella. I mean it." I smiled and leaned up to meet his lips, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I better be," I whispered and he smiled when he kissed me again. The bell rang and we took a moment before moving off to our first class, English.

Edward and I walked into the classroom, ignoring the stares from the other students. We spoke with the teacher and then took our spots in the back of the classroom. When Andy walked in I grinned and waved at him. His eyes widened and he hurried down to the desk in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. I smiled at him, resembling a rag doll.

"Hi! I'm Bella Swan, your _cousin_." Andy nodded and then turned to Edward.

"Who are you, then?" Edward smiled.

"Edward Masen, her boyfriend." Andy nodded again and looked back at me.

"Shouldn't you guys be at home or something? Aren't you a _little_ bit old for high school?" he asked. Edward scoffed and crossed his arms, glaring at me.

"That's what I thought. I made plans for today," he eyed me, looking over my body. Andy wrinkled his nose in disgust and I laughed while he turned back up. A girl with pretty short brown hair and a gorgeous smile came and sat in the desk in front of Edward.

"Hey," she said. "Sorry I took a little while." Andy smiled and nodded. She turned and jumped when she saw us sitting there. "Oh, hi!" she smiled. "My name's Donyel, you guys new?"

"You're Donyel?!" I asked excited. I saw Andy blush out of the corner of my eye while I leaned forward to shake her hand.

She looked nervous as she smiled hesitantly. "Yeah," she muttered.

"Andy has told me so much about you!" I said, smiling widely at her. Maybe I was freaking her out a bit. She looked at Andy curiously and raised an eyebrow. He mimicked Edward's position and glared straight ahead of him.

"My name is Bella, I'm Andy's cousin. This is my boyfriend Edward," I said, pointing to the brooding one next to me. He nodded at her and smiled slightly.

"Hi," she said politely to him. "When did you guys get here?" she asked. I shrugged.

"A few days ago. We're just getting used to everything now." I decided to tone down the Alice behavior. I really was excited to see her, my baby brother was hung up over this girl. I wanted to get to know her as well as I could.

"Maybe we could do something after school, get to know each other better!" I smiled and nodded.

"Sure, that would be great!" I turned to Edward whose mouth was wide open and his eyes were horrified. Obviously he had something planned for after school as well. He stuck out his bottom lip and dry sobbed, just to make me feel bad. I grinned and blew him a kiss before the class started.

When the lunch bell rang I had discovered I had almost every class with Andy and of course _every_ class with Edward. He had begun to forgive me some, being over protective with the thoughts of the other boys (which he shielded from me) and of the way they stared at me.

We met Donyel in the cafeteria and once we had sat down Andy joined us. He dropped off his bags and then the two humans went to get their lunches. I put my hand on Edward's leg and he shuddered as he pulled in a breath. I smiled at him, ready to have him like me completely again. I leaned across his chest to kiss his shoulder softly and then arranged myself more on his lap to kiss up his neck and jaw line, finally reaching his mouth.

It was opened slightly, waiting for me and he had no hesitation as he forcefully pushed his lips to mine. I smiled against his lips and Edward chuckled slightly as I pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. He grinned, staring at me through his lashes.

"It's alright. You're making it up to me tonight." I bit my lip and smiled.

"Definitely," I kissed him again quickly and sat up straight, met with the terrified expressions of my brother and his not-girlfriend. They sat down quietly, eyeing us nervously.

"Anyway," Donyel began. "What did you want to do today? We haven't got any school tomorrow, a teacher in-service or something." I grinned.

"Do you want to go catch a movie, go shopping or something?" Donyel grinned and nodded her head happily.

"Great! We can go out to Port Angeles once school is out," she said before stuffing some fries into her mouth. I laughed and nodded. After a small conversation between all of us, I saw a few kids approaching the table. One was the boy I had talked to this morning. Edward tensed and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him.

"Hey, Swan," he said to my brother. Andy looked up at him like he had two heads. _Why the hell are you talking to me…_he thought. Edward and I snorted which received a few strange looks.

"I see you found your cousin," he said, nodding his head in my direction. "Introduce us?" he asked softly. Andy looked at me and rolled his eyes, finishing the food that had been hanging out of his mouth.

"Bella, this is Mark," _Close enough to Mike…_I smiled at Edward. "Mark, Bella." Mark smiled and sat down at the table, smiling at me widely.

"Hi, Bella, finding your way around okay?" Andy shot me a look.

_I know you too are listening! Do not provoke him, he'll only stay around longer._ I gave a small nod and looked at Mark. Confused. I 'Mmhmm-ed' him softly and turned to look at Edward who was shooting arrows at the middle of Mark's forehead with his eyes.

"Cool," he said, his tone a little more nervous. "So, I was wondering, since you're new here maybe you'd want—"

"Actually," I cut in. "I already have plans for today. I rubbed my hand slowly along Edward's shoulder, making him shudder and gaze at me. I grinned when I heard Mark gulp as I slip my hand up the back of Edward's shirt, rubbing his skin softly.

"Well then," he said lightly. "I guess I'll see you around." I smiled at him, though my lips were wrinkled slightly into a grimace.

"Bye," I murmured. Andy snorted as he watched him walk away and then looked back at where Edward was staring at me.

"Nicely handled," Donyel murmured. "Maybe I should try that sometime." She looked at Andy who turned beet red.

I distractedly let my hand fall from Edward's back, he groaned in objection and I gave him an apologetic smile before he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Donyel grimaced, shaking her head. "Mark's been hitting on me all year, trying to sit with us to talk to me and add me as a name to his list." Andy snorted and looked disgusted. "I've never been able to get him to go away. We have had to listen to him during our lunch periods." I turned my attention to Andy and grinned.

"Maybe you _should_ try it some time…" I said quietly. Andy glared up at me and I couldn't help but giggle, Edward laughed too.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. As we were leaving Edward put his hand around my waist, slipping his first two fingers through the top of my jeans.

"With the way you're acting," he whispered in my ear. "I'm not going to make it through the day. Do you think we could find a janitor's closet somewhere?" I laughed loudly.

"For a guy _way_ over a hundred years, you're _really_ immature." Edward shrugged and grinned at me beautifully.

"What can I say, I'm seventeen at heart." I laughed again as we walked into the classroom.

When school had ended Edward and I walked out to the car, waiting for Andy and Donyel to join us. They came out excitedly, Donyel's phone was to her ear as she explained to her mother where she'd be. We all climbed into the car, Edward and Andy in the front. Donyel and I began talking about normal, teenage girl things as we drove out. Andy was given her phone and he dialed his mother quickly.

"Mom?" he began. "Yeah, I'm not going to be home until late, I'm going out to Port Angeles with Donyel and some new friends at school, kay?" I could hear his mother, but pretended I didn't. "Uhh, they're new here." Another pause. "Edward and Bella… yeah I know, amazing. It's a pretty freaky coincidence, I don't think her name is actually Isabella though. Maybe it's… Elizabella. Yeah I don't think it's a name either. Well, I'll call you when we're on our way home, okay? Alright. See you." He clicked the button off and sighed.

"Man, she can go on for hours," he sighed. We all laughed. _She thought it was strange, your names, but mom'll believe anything_. I nodded and stared ahead at the road, trying to plan what I would do with my little brother on our first night out.

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A/N: well that's it ahah. Sorry this wasn't out earlier. VERY busy with school. I don't know how to do… anything hhaha. So, review! And look at Andy coz he's a cuuuutie. And read Attraction which will be updated soon. And do a snow dance for me! ahaha**


	5. There's Never Enough Time

**A/N: If you're smart and you read Attraction you'll notice that in the last chapter I called it Affection which is stupid because that's not its name. So, my bad.**

**Also, you'll notice that in the time it took me to put up _four_ chapters of Attraction, this is my first since then.**

**Then, you being _ever_ perceptive will conclude, much help to your medical history, that I have writers block. **

**Ahhhh, how lovely. **

**So, this has taken some time in getting here, but here it is. By the time it gets to the page break I've stopped _forcing_ myself to write, and am more 'going with the flow' since I read the last chapter. Ahaha. Yesss. Well I hope you enjoy.**

**This title is by The Postal Service. **

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Chapter Five: There's Never Enough Time**

I dragged Donyel through the different stores in the mall. I never gave her enough time to look at anything straight away, but I did quickly dress her in about five different stores. Surprisingly, after spending twenty years with Alice I grew accustomed to hours upon hours of shopping, and even began to enjoy it a little. It was all too easy to dress Donyel in whatever I wanted and it was even easier to enjoy the look on her face when I bought it for her.

"Let's go in here next, Bella," she said, pointing to a music shop.

"You like music?" I asked. She and Edward would get along well. Hopefully he was treating Andy okay.

"A little, Andy is the _big_ music fan. I'm looking for something for his birthday…" My eyes widened and I froze mid-step between the sliding doors of the store. They opened and closed repeatedly until Donyel yanked me inside. "What's your problem?" she asked.

"I never knew his birthday was coming…" I murmured softly. Donyel smiled and continued to drag me through the store.

"It's fine, it's just this weekend! We're going to have a party. I hope… help me plan it?" She asked softly. I grinned. There was nothing I'd want more. She coasted through there quickly, finding CD's by _A Fallen Affection, Kathryn Wheeler_ and _Fabled Fidelity_. They were all new artists that I actually found quite talented. They hadn't gained the kind of popularity they deserved yet, but it wasn't far from coming. We left the store quietly then, a plan already formulating in my mind. I wanted to dress up for this party, and Donyel was going to dress to impress right along with me.

With our bags in hand I lead her to a dress shop that carried unique and fun pieces. There weren't too many people inside just yet. I pulled Donyel over to one corner and she stared around confused. Before she could say anything else I pulled out one dress that would look perfect on her and ushered her into the dressing room.

"Uh… Bella?" She called before walking outside. I stood next to the door and let her know I was there. She opened it cautiously and carefully. "Don't you think it's kind of short?" I peeked into the dressing room and saw her standing uncomfortably in the dress. That was the idea… it was called a _mini_ dress for a reason, but she looked so good in it. It was all black, white swirls climbing from the hem up and the sleeves were short and fit her like a t-shirt.

"You can wear some spandex underneath," I said as I shut the door. "Andy is going to love you in it, though." I could smell her blood more clearly and knew she was blushing.

"Do you really think so?" she asked. I grinned even wider.

"I know so." She laughed a little and came back out, fully clothed.

"Well, we need to get you something so you can knock Edward dead!" she exclaimed excitedly. I was looking forward to it. She ran out into the store and searched through the racks until she pulled out a strapless ivory dress with black flowers. It looked to come to my knee and was so cute.

I went into the dressing room and tried it on. It came just above my knees and fitted me well. Donyel did a good job picking it out. I stepped out and showed it to her. I pulled my hair from the ponytail, letting the curls fall around my shoulders. If I wanted to admit it, I looked good. Donyel seemed to agree with me.

"Ah, that looks awesome!" she exclaimed. She put on a ditzy cheerleader voice and clapped her hands together. "You look, like, a model!" I laughed at her and she just giggled. A few employees looked down, giving me compliments. I smiled and stepped out next to the cash, giving myself a better look in the mirror.

That was when I looked out the glass wall of the store to the rest of the mall and saw both Edward and Andy staring into the store, their mouths wide opened. I laughed loudly and hurried into the dressing room as Edward began storming his way inside.

"Bella!" he called excitedly from outside the door. "Let me see!" Donyel and Andy were sniggering behind him.

"How about… no!" I said, hurriedly trying to change into my jeans. I was hopping into them with only a bra on when he rattled at the door.

"I want to see you in that dress. I'll come in!" he threatened with a short pause. "I mean it, there's a space under the door!" I threw the dress over the top, picturing it landing on his perfect hair.

"There it is!" I said cheerfully as I pulled my shirt on and then opened the door. Edward had his bottom lip stuck out in a pout, the dress covering his eyes and his hair hanging in front of his nose. I laughed again and he grinned.

"That wasn't what I meant," he said sourly. I bit my lip.

"I know, but that dress is a surprise for later." Edward grabbed my shoulders and backed me into the small space, slamming the door behind him. The other two yelled out in disgust. I only giggled and gave him a quick kiss before snatching the dress and hurrying out to pay for it, along with Donyel's.

"What do you mean, for later?" Edward asked curiously as I looped the bag around my wrist. I smiled at him sweetly as we all left the store.

"We're throwing a party for Andy's birthday," I informed them. Andy brightened up a little. We walked through the mall slowly, looking at different things in windows, stopping for longer periods at book and music stores.

I hung back with Edward once and watched Andy and Donyel gush over a CD in his hand. "What are we going to get him for his birthday?" Edward whispered in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist. I felt my mouth curling into a grin.

"I want to get him a car…"

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I finished hiding the rest of the valuables in the house as soon as Edward walked in the living room. He was wearing a dress shirt and dark pants, looking oh-so-very handsome. I bit my lip as a sort of restraint, to keep from running at him.

After arriving home from Port Angeles Edward dropped Andy off but Donyel came back to our house for a little while as we called every person we could to be here for the party. We had succeeded, many of their friends coming, and more people coming at the news that Edward and I would be there.

I watched Edward hang up the phone and a troubled expression crossed his face.

"You alright?" I asked. He turned to me and tried to smile but shook his head.

"There's something you should know," he said hesitantly. I smiled and him and sat next to him on the couch. "A few years before we met you, we had an encounter with another pack of vampires. They were mates, and the male knew Alice when she was human. To say the least there was some tension.

"He was furious that she'd gotten away from him as a human, so he was determined to take her as a vampire. We did the best thing we could and fought back. James was destroyed by Jasper and Emmett, Alice leant a helping hand. His mate, Victoria was furious with our family had vowed to take revenge.

"Alice just called and said she saw a vision of Victoria in this area, so she called to warn us. She and I both agree she shouldn't be a threat- she can't know we're here, but we'll have to be more careful." I nodded, taking it all in. He smiled warmly at me then and kissed me softly. At the moment I wished the doorbell hadn't rang.

People were starting to arrive already, so I shot Edward a wink and hurried up the stairs. I could see him hesitating in following me, but someone had to make sure no one robbed the place. I zipped into my dress when I heard Andy and Donyel at the door. I slipped into flat white shoes and left my hair as it was, it looked fine.

Donyel was wearing the dress I had given her. She had matched it simply with pantyhose and flat black shoes. We almost dressed the same. She had put on some dark eye makeup and flipped out the ends of her hair. I smiled when I saw her and hurried down the stairs.

"Oh, you look great!" I said as I pulled her into a hug. She smiled and looked me over as I spun around for her.

"You'll do," she informed me with a small grin. We both laughed and turned to look at the men-folk who were watching us curiously. Edward's eyes were glazed over, his mouth hanging open slightly. I smiled at him and stepped towards him, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"You okay?" I asked teasingly. He shook his head slightly and grinned.

"I wish you would have let me seen it sooner," he whispered before bending down to give me a soft kiss. Andy and Donyel were ushering some more of their friends inside. I was glad to see some were thoughtful enough to bring presents.

"Why did you throw me a party?" Andy hissed as we walked out to the makeshift dance floor of the living room.

"I haven't known you all eighteen years you've been alive, Andy," I said. I could hear my voice growing softer, sadder as I looked up into his eyes. I had missed this. Whatever it was, I missed it. Now I had a chance to get it back. "I want to do things for you, get to know you, get you to like me."

"Bella…" he muttered as a slow dance started. I hugged into him and we began wobbling in a circle, a popular dance among teens. "I know what you mean, and I want all that too. But, don't you think we already sort of know each other already? I mean… we're so much alike. You didn't need to do all of this just to get that." I grinned and looked at him.

"Yeah, but I wanted to dress Donyel up, too." I felt the heat in his cheeks and chuckled at him as we resumed our dance.

It didn't take long for more and more people to get here. And, as the night got increasingly darker, the music seemed to grow even louder. I wanted to admit it was fun, but I was too worried about Andy having fun to even think of anything else. Edward and I had had every slow dance together, finding them more tolerable than a faster dance when everyone in the room was on the floor bumping into each other.

There was loud whooping and screaming from the front door when Andy and I had sat down to begin opening the presents Donyel had given him. Edward's head shot up and I saw his eyes turn very dark. The music cut out, everyone was quiet except for one boy cheering. I hurried out with Edward to the front door where Mark was.

His hair was askew, as were his clothes and he was holding a case of beer. Half of them fell out, empty, while the rest clanked together inside the box.

"The party's here now, boyyys'" he yelled as he took a step inside the house. He stumbled in further, his eyes locking on mine and he staggered towards me. He was already drunk. "Heyyy, Bella!" he said, dragging my name into three syllables. "You're looking _awfully_ pretty tonight. How about me and you go dancing?!" I smiled and shook my head no.

Mark frowned and stumbled away from me. "Well that's not cool. I don't care though, I'm not going to cry over you. Donyel!" Edward stepped in front of him, looking none too impressed. He spun Mark around, grabbed the seat of his pants and his jackets collar and _literally_ threw him out of the door, his beer along with him. Edward turned around after slamming the door shut. Everyone was looking at him terrified and quiet. It was only when I burst out laughing at him that the music was turned back on and everyone continued what they were doing before.

"Sorry," he murmured to me. "I'm not putting up with another Mike Newton."

Donyel was sitting with Andy when we went back. He was looking excited over the CD's we had given him. I sat down on a seat opposite them and watched him happily. Edward leaned against my chair and smiled at me.

"Are you ready for our present now?" I called. I was loud enough to be heard over the music, but he gave Donyel a quick hug before looking at us.

"Yeah sure. But, you guys threw me this party, you didn't have to buy me something, too." I grinned at him and stood up, taking his hand and leading him towards the door.

Edward opened it and the four of us walked over the lawn towards our cars. There, nestled in among the others, was a new one, especially for him. It was easy to pick out, there were balloons and ribbons. Andy choked on his breath as Edward clapped a set of keys into his hands.

"Are you kidding me?!" he exclaimed as he ran towards the car. I was laughing now, watching his reaction. Donyel followed him up and they both climbed in, inspecting the interior. Edward wrapped his arms around me and I smiled up at him. He gave me a quick kiss before we moved closer to my brother.

"You _have_ to take this back, I can't accept it," Andy said as he got back out. I shook my head and pushed him lightly towards the car again.

"It's yours, don't worry about it." His mouth was moving, but no words came out as he looked happily from the car to me. I knew he was trying to say no, to do anything to not be happy about a new car.

I clapped my arm around his shoulder as we walked back to the house.

"Listen, little brother," I told him softly. "When you've got an eternity on your hands it's easy to save up enough money for twenty five of those," I motioned behind us, "And, a _lot _more. Don't worry about it. And, we'll think of something to tell your mom." He grinned at me and finally laughed as we walked back inside.

Once the party had ended everyone went home tiredly, leaving only a small amount of mess for me to clean up. Andy and Donyel hung by the door, shrugging into their jackets. I heard a phone ringing, Donyel's. She pulled it out and glanced at it quickly before passing it to Andy.

"Hi, I'm on my way home," he said quickly. His mother was on the other end. He stepped outside as he talked to her, hoping for a little privacy. That was never given when your sister was a vampire. He had to go to the doctor's again tomorrow, another check up. I felt the corners of my mouth sinking but tried to hide it as he came back inside.

"I'll see you tomorrow, or whenever, Bella." He moved up and gave me a hug. I buried myself underneath his chin, holding him tightly to him. I hoped Carlisle would be able to help him soon.

"Good luck tomorrow," I whispered, giving him a wink. He smiled at me, but he only put half his heart into it. I knew he wasn't looking forward to it.

I watched Donyel throw his gifts into the back seat of his new car, and smiled as he drove away. At least the ride home was something to enjoy. The thought of a doctor poking at him would be a little less important now.

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A/N: Yesss well. I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly… I won't finish that. Umm. I'm thinking that I am going to focus more on writing Attraction, since that is going to be a fairly long story. I have such a block towards this one right now that there isn't going to be a fixed update schedule like one chapter of one, one chapter of another for right now. It's going to be attraction all the time, Casualties when I can actually summon up the energy to write a good chapter.**

**Which makes me sad, since I like this story so much. But, Attraction is just… _better_. I actually look forward to reading it as I'm sure, some of you look forward to reading it.**

**So, I am going to start writing a chapter now, and it will be up sometime tomorrow, definitely. **


	6. Dream to MakeBelieve

**A/N: OMG LOOK AT THIS! I AM WRITING, WHAAAT??? THAT NEVER HAPPENS! **

**I just watched Pan's Labyrinth and felt a need to do a little update on this, just to get it going again. See if I could pick it up. It probably won't be happening since school is crazy now D: haha.**

**This title is by Armor For Sleep**

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Chapter Six: Dream to Make-Believe**

Gym Class, yet again. I watched as the football is thrown back and forth between different people. It's just gloomy enough for us to play outside, yet not too gloomy that the humans would freeze to death or be rained on.

I began running towards my teams end of the field, watching Edward race behind the other players. This was the first time, surprisingly, in all our years together that I had ever really played any kind of sport with him. The boy with the ball yelled my name and threw it as high as he could over the others' heads. I jumped up a little ways and caught the ball in my hands.

I was close to finishing, just keep running, I told myself. Then, there he was, standing a few feet in front of me, a clear path leading to one another. I grinned and then shot back, running for the goal. Edward chuckled and began running after me. I tried to keep it cool, not going too overboard with my speed and I caught snatches of Edward's mind about how I looked when I ran. I grinned and kept my eyes focused on the goal. I dodged through the other kids and smiled as I came nearer to Edward.

I feigned a left, jumped to the right, and he was right there. I tried one last attempt to throw the ball right when he tackled into my stomach and I went flying to the ground, laughing all the way as a boy from Edward's team caught it.

Everyone went running to the other end of the field, and we lay there in the cool, damp grass, laughing loudly on top of one another.

"You put up a good fight!" Edward said with a grin, leaning up on his hands to look me in the face. I grinned and flicked his nose, jumping to my feet.

"Yeah, better than you could," I said. The coach blew into his shrill whistle and we began to head back inside to the changing rooms.

I walked with Edward towards the lunchroom and frowned when I saw Donyel alone in the line up. I walked up to her and tried on my best smile.

"Is Andy here yet?" I asked curiously. She frowned and shook her head.

"I haven't heard from him yet. He should be coming soon, though." I nodded and squeezed Edward's arm, letting him know that I was going out to look for him. Edward smiled and gave me a quick kiss before I left the lunchroom, ignoring Mark's attempt at a conversation.

The parking lot was deserted and it had started to rain slightly. I could feel the misty wetness against my skin, and for the first time, stood there and enjoyed it. This was what made it feel like home. This was what kept me with my brother.

I heard an engine, a car driving into the lot and recognized the birthday gift I had given Andy. He parked in the back, in the only spot available and then climbed out of the seat, flinging his book bag over his shoulder. I started towards him and watched his brown hair dampen and plaster itself to his forehead.

He was staring at his feet, his hands in his pockets and he seemed upset.

"Andy?" I tried softly. He looked up surprised, his eyes darkening when he saw me. I noticed his lip quiver and I moved quickly to take him into my arms. "What's wrong, Andy? Tell me? Please?" he sobbed into my jacket and I felt awkward. Teenage boys weren't supposed to cry, right? These were real, honest to God tears streaming down his pale cheeks, mixed with the rain. I hummed softly as I rubbed his back, holding onto him tightly.

His grip on me was iron, stronger than anything I've ever felt before. "Bella," he mumbled into my chest. "It's over now…"

What? I didn't understand. My brow furrowed so much I was getting a headache. He could tell I was confused. It was a brother/sister thing. That, or he recognized the look on my face as 'what the hell is going on'.

"My leukemia is just as worse, if not more so than it was before," he sobbed, backing away to look me in the eye. My breath caught. "The tests they did? I've stopped responding to any treatment, so I'm going to die anyway, no matter what I do." My stomach fell to the ground, my dead heart ripped in two. "There's absolutely nothing they can do, I'm dying, right _now._"

I fell back a step and then threw myself into his arms, letting him hold me and comfort me. As if I was the one who was dealing with that amount of crap. Andy shushed me, to try and soothe the dry sobs that were racking my body.

Maybe if I close my eyes, I started to think as we walked back to the cafeteria. Maybe… if I pretend that I never heard him, he won't actually be dying. Maybe my secret superpower is to go back in time, back before anything was ever mentioned about leukemia, back to when he was just a _brother._ Just a little, innocent brother.

I could pretend… I could pretend nothing was wrong. I could make-believe that he was healthy and strong and _so_ way more awesome than the other stupid high school kids here, because he was! Is! He was the most incredible boy I'd ever seen, to be so strong through so many things. And why shouldn't he be that strong without a disease that was slowly killing him?

No matter how many times I went over it in my head as we pushed through the green doors, into the thick, sweet/sour smell of the cafeteria, it was always there. That _one_ scent. The scent that lingered in the flowery odour of his blood. The one that made it just a little bit chemical, a little repulsive. The sickness. I could smell it in his system, and that made all my imaginings disappear.

Edward looked up when we were feet away from the table and immediately knew something was wrong. Both of us were wet, staring at our feet and had frowns permanently etched on our faces. Donyel looked up concernedly and smiled nervously to Andy. His lips twitched, like he was attempting to be happy, just to reassure her. Edward took a hold of my hand and lifted my face to look into his eyes.

_Tell me later?_ I heard him ask. I nodded softly and then turned back to Andy.

"I'm going to take him home, Donyel. He isn't feeling well. We'll see you later, alright?" She looked at me worriedly and nodded her head. I could see her features growing more and more frightened.

"I'll call you later, okay? Tell me what's wrong?" Andy mumbled an 'Okay' before turning on his heel to head back outside. Edward and I followed close behind.

I placed Andy in the backseat of my car while Edward went to tell the secretary we were gone.

"Andy…" I began quietly. "Are you going to be alright?" he looked up at me from under his heavy eyelids.

"Yeah…" he began slowly with a hoarse voice. "I think I'm getting a cold, though." I couldn't help but laugh breathily at how nonchalantly he was acting. "I think I'm supposed to be used to the idea that this was coming by now…" he began when I sat down in my own seat. "I mean, I've known since I was young that my cancer was a lot worse than other people's… but I guess I was hoping that maybe it would be alright in the end."

Edward climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car, driving slowly (for once) towards my old house, Andy's house. "It's so stupid…" my brother continued. "People have been beating this disease for _so long_ now… and I'm this healthy teenager and I can't even do it. I can't come close! Now, I'm officially dying, and there's nothing that can be done about it." Edward's breath caught and I opened my mind so that he knew the whole story. He looked at me with sad eyes and grabbed onto my hand comfortingly.

"What about my car?" Andy said after a moments silence while we walked the steps to his house. I laughed again at this.

"Edward's gone to get it. I'm going to stay with you until you go to sleep. I think that's what would be the best for you right now." Andy smiled and nodded. His mother wasn't home; she was still out at work and would be until later that evening. I followed him through the house, upstairs to his room. He slipped out of his clothes quickly and climbed into the warm duvet on his bed.

"You're going to stay with me, right?" he nearly pleaded. I smiled and nodded, taking a seat next to the side of his bed.

"I'll be here for however long you want me to be," Andy smiled and nodded, pulling the blanket up close to his chin.

He looked so fragile. Not that being a human, and me being this super strong killing machine didn't _already_ make him fragile. It was because of the cancer.

And, it shouldn't even have hit me this hard, but because now it was official, I think that made things all the worse. How many times did I have to be dealt this blow before I realised that every moment I spent with him was precious? That every moment could be his last?

"Bella, I've been thinking…" he said quietly. I angled myself more towards him and looked down at his sad, brown eyes. He wouldn't meet me, kept staring at a spot on his wall, or the duvet, I couldn't tell. "I've been thinking, what if I was like you?" I froze. That's it, right there. I'm done. I don't want any talk of there being an end which requires salvation by vampirism. That's not right.

"Why would you think such a thing," I said forcefully. He looked into my eyes then, seeming even sadder.

"I mean, once I die, I'll die. And that's it. It can't be helped," he started again. "I won't tell Donyel how I really feel, I won't get to say goodbye to my mother, and I won't get to know my sister and her family." Those were very good points. And becoming a vampire has to do with what? "If you changed me into a vampire before I got worse, then maybe I could do all of those things. Maybe, I could admit how I felt to Donyel if I knew I could watch her live out the rest of her life. Maybe I could say goodbye for good to my mother if I knew I could see her carry on. And, maybe if I was like you, then I could be with you and Edward and I could get to know you, and him, and everyone else that you've mentioned." My face softened. That would be something I'd look forward to.

"I know you'd probably have some stupid excuse like 'that's not how I'm supposed to live my life, I should be a normal boy and not suck blood to stay alive,' but you're not exactly normal! And you're my sister!" His tone was lighter now; it was hard not to smile as I listened to him. "But, if I was changed, then I could be with you, and not be without anyone. _And_, you tell me what part of dying at eighteen is normal for a human boy?" I giggled then, softly. It was true. All of this were things I had been told were discussed at the time of my change.

"Andy, is that what you'd _really_ want? To live forever just to stay, in some way, alive?" He thought for a moment and then met my eyes again. He didn't seem nearly as sad, more alive, and more hopeful than I'd ever seen him.

"Yeah, Bella. I really do," he whispered. "I don't want to go to some dark place alone. I want to be with you, my sister." I smiled to myself and leaned onto his bed.

"Then that's what we'll do," I told him. "Only after you graduate, though. Promise me that?" He nodded with a smile and snuggled into his blanket. "So, until then, I'm going to make these the best damn months of your life!" he chuckled at my exclamation and turned onto his side, closing his eyes and giving into exhaustion. I stayed there until I heard his breathing slow down, when he was finally asleep. Edward came in and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I stood up and held him close to me, needing his warmth to think about what I had just committed to.

I guess this was enough times to be dealt so many blows. I guess now I was doing something about it, and that something was making my brother happy, and keeping him with me.

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A/N: It's a little short, hey? BUT it got out what I needed to get out, and it displayed allllll the emotions I am feeling right now. So, sorry if you don't like it, but I JUST wrote ALL of that then, no little pieces over a week of time. It's amazing! Two updates in one night!**

**I hope you liked it. I'm not really sure what's going to happen next. So, any suggestions as to what you'd like to see in this story, as to Donyel/Andyness, or Bella/Andyness, or Bella/Edwardness, let me know! I NEED to know! Otherwise I'll skip to the ending and this will be THE SHORTEST story you'll ever see, ahha!**

**Aside from Oneshots hehe**

**Awww, and now that I think about it this chapter is a lot of whining and I don't like it too much, but maybe you guys will.**

**Review?**


	7. The Best In Me

**A/N: My excuses for not writing are in Attraction.**

**Basically… Everyone wanted everyone-ness. So, let's see if I can manage that while also attempting at plot development. THAT will be a task.**

**Thanks to shobbs, yet again, for what is going to happen in this story.**

**This chapter is by Sherwood**

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**Chapter Seven: The Best In Me**

And so I lived. I spent every single day with my sister, unless she had gone hunting with my brother-in-law. The months passed and winter slowly melted into spring, and I was ecstatic at the thought of my graduation approaching. That would mean that the date of my change would be coming closer.

When Bella first told Edward, he was only a little bit apposed to the idea. I think he gave in due to Bella's 'persuasion' and the fact that he had already faced this decision with my sister years before.

My mom still didn't know about my sister. For all she knew I just had two new friends that Donyel and I were constantly with. She didn't know that in a few short weeks I'd be dying. It was scheduled, even more so than when the doctor had initially planned my death.

But I wouldn't really be dying. I'd be starting a new life, a _different_ one, albeit, but a life none the less.

Sucking blood was better than turning blue six feet underground and slowly rotting away.

I shuddered at the thought of myself dressed up in Sunday's best, lying in a wooden box buried underneath the heavy earth. Instead of dwelling on that thought, I pulled on a light tee shirt and switched to things my sister and I would do together once we'd be a real family again.

It was _so_ exciting. I had missed her all my life.

I hopped into some jeans when I heard a knock at the door downstairs. Running towards the sound I shoved my feet into my slip on vans (courtesy of my sister) and heaved open the front door.

Standing there in front of me was the beautiful Donyel.

The girl of my dreams, if you would.

I instantly began to smile and she giggled before giving me a silly wave. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, grabbing her hand with my own and stepping down the stairs lightly.

"Morning Andy," she said lightly, swinging our arms back and forth between us. I grinned at her and swung them even higher.

"Morning Don!" she laughed at the nickname. My mother had often thought that 'Don' was a boy until I actually explained the fact to her that she was Donyel.

"It's actually pretty warm for April," she said, taking her hand from mine and slipping it into her pocket. It was, despite the cloud cover.

These clouds weren't dark grey and stuffed full of rain, these ones were light a fluffy, just thick enough to block out the sun, even if bright light was still pouring down. The heat was just right, warm enough to leave a jacket behind. We were heading towards Bella's place. The four of us had decided to just hang out and act stupid all day. Like we usually did.

Donyel and I carried a light conversation nearly the entire way to Bella's _huge_ house, until I stopped abruptly in the middle of the road.

"I'm tired," I wailed. She looked at me curiously, an amused smile breaking onto her lips. "You go get Bella… I'll wait here." She laughed and started walking backwards to keep watching me.

"Alright, but you're going to be all alone on this creepy old road," she teased. "I mean, I heard there are even rapists and murderers around here." I laughed and then jogged back up to her.

"Alright never mind." We both laughed again. God, it felt so good to be this happy with her. She was exactly what I wanted, exactly what I needed to feel better again.

I had agreed with Bella to at least tell Donyel how I felt before the change. She didn't need to know about the cancer. That would be too much for her. I wouldn't want to see her upset before I had to leave her for good.

We turned into the driveway and started walking over the massive lawn when something dawned on me.

"Waaaaait," I yelled, stopping again, mid stride. "I have a car… why did we walk?" Donyel burst into laughter and I groaned, shaking my head.

"It was funner this way. Besides, you needed the exercise." She poked me in the gut. I dropped my mouth, faking shock.

"Ex_cuse_ me, miss moo, but you're one to talk!" she pretended to be offended but I could see her shoulders shaking from laughter. I chuckled again and threw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.

All of a sudden there was a blood curdling scream. We both froze and looked up towards the house. We waited, and I could faintly hear a sound that resembled crying… or choking. I took a hesitant step forward and heard a scream again. Now I was getting worried. It was Bella screaming, too. And she didn't have any reason to scream; she could look at something and crack it in two… pretty much.

I saw her dart out from around the side of the house and I made a movement to run after her, to find out what she was screaming about, but I froze.

Was she running normal speed? I think so… Donyel still doesn't know about them, like she'll never know about me. Luckily Bella was running just a little over human pace, enough to look like she ran track. Then, from around the side of her house came Edward, running just as fast as she was.

Then I realised why she was screaming. They were playing, teasing, just having some regular old fun like any married couple would do. Edward was apparently chasing her; both were laughing and acting just like newlyweds. It was the first time I'd seen them like this, and they truly looked like they belonged together.

Bella turned around and faced him, stepping backwards slowly. Edward picked up his pace and ran at her. Bella laughed again and danced around him, just narrowly avoiding his grasp. Donyel aww'd at them quietly and we both stopped to watch. Bella started running away again, but Edward was faster. He got up behind her and grabbed her by the waist, swinging her around several times before falling onto his back, my sister securely held his chest. They both smiled and I grimaced when I saw them lean into a kiss.

I screamed in disgust and they looked up, laughing. They slowly got up and we all headed towards the other.

"Hey guys," Edward said, trying to catch his breath and act casual. Donyel snickered at him. Bella was wearing a light green tee shirt and jeans, while Edward had on a blue tee and darker jeans. Donyel and I were dressed very similarly, but in different colours.

"What are we going to do?" I asked them. Bella perked up.

"Let's play football," she said, almost evilly. Edward raised an eyebrow at her.

"You never play sports…" he said softly. She looked at him and grinned.

"I've always wondered what it'd be like to play you. You don't stand a chance, punk!" she pushed his chest softly and then ran back into the house, emerging with a football. She threw it out into the yard and it landed perfectly into my arms.

"Me and Andy are a team!" she yelled, coming up and throwing her arm around my shoulder. I laughed again and Edward moved over to Donyel, mimicking the action.

"We can take 'em, right?" he asked her. She smirked and nodded.

"Heck yes!" Everyone laughed heartily. This was going to be interesting. Edward and Donyel moved to the other end of the gigantic lawn. The shade of the large trees made it a lot cooler, but we'd be warming up soon from the exercise regardless. Edward was throwing the ball to us first and he seemed like he was being very careful about it.

"Come on, Cullen!" Bella shouted across the field. I started laughing again, she was _taunting_ him. And, I knew for a fact that our family just plain _sucked_ at sports. "Throw the ball! Jeez, I bet you throw like a girl!" he shot her a look. I assumed they were communicating through mind-speak.

"What's that?! You're scared I'm going to beat you! Well yeah, what'd you expect?" she was giggling then too, but only loud enough for me to hear.

With a grunt Edward threw the ball and Bella and I went racing. I picked it up first running a short ways before Donyel was right in front of me. Bella kept running, luckily. I tossed the ball to her. She jumped up and caught it and then started running towards the end of the lawn.

We hadn't really established a goal line, but she'd get there eventually. Donyel stopped running and stood with me, watching them as they had their little showdown. We both sprinted up closer, watching Edward approach her.

With a small cry Edward lunged at her, and she tried her best to dodge out of the way, but he tackled her, sending her flying to the ground. Of course, he was right on top of her. I snuck past them, Donyel was preoccupied with watching them. Bella grinned.

"Andy!" she yelled, tossing the ball feebly towards me. I fell to the ground to catch it and then jumped up, running for my life to the other end. I heard Edward scream out a 'No!' while Bella laughed her head off and Donyel tried to catch up with me. I thought I'd gone far enough so I threw the ball down and attempted a little victory dance. Donyel was laughing loudly when she finally reached me, and since my team-mate was out of play (making out with her husband) I gave her a high five.

We both caught our breath and then Donyel gently touched my arm. I looked up and met her beautiful brown eyes. My heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah?" I asked. She looked nervous.

"I wanted to talk to you…" she said softly. We moved behind a tree, hopefully out of view of the 'lovely' couple. Lovely if you're into listening to vampires making out.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She smiled weakly, her eyes not longer meeting mine. I moved closer, holding onto her arms. I didn't want _anything_ bringing my girl down in the dumps.

"Nothing's wrong… I just…" she looked up and her eyes danced around my face, not really wanting to look in my eyes, but managing it for a second. "I really like you, Andy." My heart stopped. "I always have for a long while. And I think I'm getting pretty close to loving you."

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**Hahah.**

**This was surprisingly really easy to write!**

**I did it BASICALLY in one sitting! And, by one sitting I mean in one afternoon! One loooong afternoon. And I enjoyed it. It was preeeetty easy to do, and I am actually pleased with the result, pointless as it is! (well... the ending part, at least.)**


	8. Fell In Love With A Girl

**A/N: I actually don't think this is going to be very much longer!! In the chapter AFTER this, it's Andy's graduation. And for those of you who know the plot, you know what'll happen ;);) hehe. You're all going to LOVE me.**

**I know this probably isn't going to be read for a while thanks to Eclipse. And, I'd like to urge you all to check out my livejournal every now and then, because I make updates there every couple of days concerning my updating schedule.**

**This title is by The White Stripes!**

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**Chapter Eight: Fell In Love With A Girl**

Holy SHIT! NO WAY. My heart started up again, doing double over time. With a glance over her shoulder I saw that Edward and my sister were 'preoccupied' so without even thinking and before I knew it I pinned Donyel against the tree and pressed myself against her into a deep kiss. My first kiss really. And, I'm not really one for details, but it was _awesome_. She tasted sweet and warm and I didn't want to let her go. But there's always that little issue of breathing. Drat.

I leaned my forehead against hers when the kiss ended, and was pleased to see that she too was gasping for air. Her eyes were closed, and I could feel her hands gripping on to the sleeves of my shirt. I realised then that I had no clue what I was about to say next, so I figured that pointing out the obvious would be useful.

"Um… I guess what I was trying to say is I really really, possibly love you, too." Donyel grinned and laughed, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. I was smiling the whole time; I couldn't believe this was happening.

"What's going on over here?!" I heard Bella say, just as we had begun kissing again. Instead of being embarrassed of what I was doing with Donyel, she quickly hid her face in my shoulder and I turned to glare angrily at my sister and brother-in-law.

"We're following your example," I muttered angrily. Bella grinned and Edward chuckled. Donyel looked back up, still in my arms, her face blood red.

"I'm just glad that you too got off whatever kind of horse you were on and finally admitted that you're madly in love with each other." Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder as he spoke.

Donyel and I both muttered at the same time: "Not _madly_ in love…"

From there we started another football game, boys against girls, and I am happy to say that the girls kicked out butts, since they used our testosterone driven heads against us. I'd call it playing dirty, but Donyel couldn't help that I was staring at her the entire time, rather than Bella running past me with the ball.

When it had started growing dark outside we all moved into the house, to settle down with something to eat (for the living) and a movie or two. It was when I caught Donyel's eye watching me lovingly that I remembered why I had even stayed away from her in the first place.

I was dying. And now, all of a sudden I was jumping into a relationship with this girl I had known since the day I was born. I didn't want her to get hurt when the day came that I eventually did… die, so I kept it hidden, rather than have her live everyday, wondering if this day would be the end.

I knew that if she knew, she wouldn't want me like I wanted her. But now, I was thinking… If I meant this much to her now… how would she react to my leukemia? It might not be that bad, but what about the fact that I wasn't responding to treatments?

I decided to risk it. I'd at least still have a friend, I knew she wasn't that terrible, to cut off all ties with me.

Right in the middle of a conversation the three of them were having I spoke up. "Donyel, I have to tell you something…" She turned to look at me, her lovely mouth hanging open slightly from being cut off mid sentence. Edward and Bella's eyes both grew wide, they knew what I was going to say.

_Just say it, just say it, just say it… it won't be so bad… it won't. It's better than a lie._ I kept telling myself that over and over in my head until I looked up into Donyel's eyes.

"I'm dying," I said plainly. I saw her gorgeous brown eyes widen for a moment, her mouth close. "I have leukemia, I've had it for years, and recently I've stopped responding to treatment. So, it's hard to say how much time I have left." Donyel stood there, her expression only slightly saddened. It was so quiet, so horribly quiet that I wound up fidgeting in place because of how uncomfortable it was. Bella's mouth was open, moving slightly as she searched for the words to try and comfort us both.

Donyel moved forward, wrapping her arms around me and kissing my cheek softly. "I always knew there was some reason why you were sort of distant to me," she whispered. "And I always thought the worst, that it would be something like this. But, I love you. I'm going to help you however I can."

I couldn't help it then. I had been faced with my impending death so many times, and finally given into the fact that someday I _would_ die, that having this support from her brought me to tears. My eyes stung with tears and I sobbed into her shirt, clutching on to her for dear life.

I hadn't cried this badly since I was younger, and now it seemed like all I wanted to do. After a short while I managed to recollect myself, sitting up straight and wiping my eyes. I smiled weakly at them all, and Donyel wiped a tear from my cheek, leaning in to kiss it.

"I'm okay!" I said with a laugh. They all smiled at me, I could still see the sadness in Bella's eyes.

"I think it's about time you guys got home, before your parents started worrying about you," Edward pointed out. And, he was right. Of course. They dropped Donyel off first, and I made a point of sneaking a kiss from her in the backseat before she left. Although, you can't really call it sneaking a kiss, since the vampires could read my mind to begin with, _and_ they had super hearing... and they could see us in the rear view mirror.

When they pulled up in my driveway I remembered something I had done for Bella earlier.

"Stay here for a second," I instructed and ran inside, scooping a CD up from off the counter. Bella rolled down her window and I passed it in. "These are some of my favourite songs. I thought you should listen to it, since you're my sister and we're supposed to know these sorts of things about each other." I could see her lip quivering, and her chin did that weird puckery thing that chins do when they start to cry.

"Thank you so much, Andy," she said loudly, throwing herself out of the window to grab my waist in an awkward hug. "This means a lot to me, I'm going to listen to it all the time." I laughed at her sobbing voice, knowing that she was playing it up to make me smile again. "We'll see you tomorrow," she called as I walked to my front door.

The next day I woke up bright and early and began to sleepily force my self into my tuxedo. Because, when I say 'bright and early' I actually mean 'at lunchtime'. Bella and Edward were going to pick me up to go get my graduation photos done. Donyel was meeting me there with her family, and my mother was dropping by, after I got the pictures with Bella finished.

I combed through my hair, making it look presentable in exactly the fashion I was after. Bella would have to do my tie, I was completely hopeless when it came to that. I washed my face quickly, and brushed my teeth. I looked like I was graduating, exactly the look I was going for! Just as I finished there was a car horn outside and I quickly grabbed my black converse and ran outside. I was tying up my laces while Edward sped down the road. I fell over once, when he rounded a corner.

Bella turned around to assess the damage my suit had done to me. She grinned at me when I tried to do my tie while also trying to sit upright. "That's what seatbelts are for," she said smartly. "They hold you in place so you can do your tie." I scoffed and looked up at her under my lashes.

"It'd help if I knew _how _totie a tie." Bella laughed again, her musical laughter that reminded me that she was, still, a vampire. It was all these little things that reminded me of my upcoming change, how perfect she was in every aspect. I was bound to be a completely different person.

When Edward pulled into the parking lot he stood out, and I admired how well he wore his own tuxedo, the tie already neatly done up. I bet he did it himself. Now _that_ was the kind of person... vampire... I wanted to be like. Since getting to know Edward I came to the conclusion that he was awesome. He knew practically everything, being over 120 years old, and he was so polite and he knew how to dress well and how to get probably every girl on the face of the planet.

But, he had my sister, so he was one lucky guy, I'd say.

Edward just knew how to do things, _everything_. It was something that I wanted to be capable of, to be the kind of guy that everyone looked up to and went to for advice. Once I was changed, I'd be given the chance to learn how exactly to do that.

I was smiling as we walked into the makeshift studio (the photographer was from Seattle, he didn't know that Bella was supposedly dead), and Bella gave me a curious look as we introduced ourselves. Donyel and her family were just finishing up. She looked absolutely stunning in an emerald green dress. it had a large skirt, with small silver stones pinching the fabric together in places. The sweetheart neckline made me stare at all the wrong places, and it was accented with more of the silver stones, and pearls, and silver stitching. It was gorgeous on her. Her brown hair was straight and flicking out at the edges around her shoulders.

She looked at me out of the corner of her smokey eyes and grinned before taking another picture with her little brother. I watched her say something to her family and they left, giving us all smiles and 'hello's'. Donyel came up as well, and looped her arm in to mine, dragging me out in front of the backdrop.

"Jeez, lady, if you wanted a picture with me you just had to ask," I exclaimed as she straightened me up, flicking my hair around a bit. She snorted and rolled her eyes. I watched a grin break on to her lips as she spoke.

"I believe it was you who was begging me to be your date, and to take many a picture so that you could show all your guy friends that you actually know a girl." I frowned then, playing along.

"If by 'all my guy friends' you mean Edward, then yeah. I want to show him I'm more of a man than he is for snagging my sister." I heard a 'Hey!' off to the side. Make that two. "Besides, I have no guy friends. Will you be my friend?" Donyel put her hands on her hips and thought about it while I stuck out my bottom lip to look sad.

Which was exactly when the photographer shot the picture. He looked up at us, chuckling. "You two make quite the couple," he said. "I should get you to do photoshoots for my portfolio." Donyel and I both laughed and then we began the standard graduation photos. Once we had enough done together, Bella stepped up next.

I was excited to have my picture taken with my sister. Since it couldn't be done when I was younger, It was nice to have it at this age. We could practically pass as twins now, whereas before she could have been my (young) mother.When I told her this she giggled and agreed to being my twin once I was changed, despite the fact that eternally I'd be a year older than her. When I asked her if she would even show up on film she was full out laughing. So, Edward felt it time to step in. We had a couple of pictures together, and then Bella joined in, and then Donyel joined in. By the time the four of us were there it was hard to take a serious picture, even if we managed a few.

Bella and Edward brought Donyel home, leaving me to wait for my mother. The photographer was nice enough to let me see some of the pictures. Bella was stunning, wearing a dark blue dress with a flowing skirt that twirled around her ankles. she had a deep neckline and fluttery sleeves. She looked striking, standing next to Edward and you could tell that they were meant to be together. That was kind of the way I thought that Don and I looked, at it made me smile to see every picture of her in the beautiful green dress.

My mother came and finished ordering the pictures. She had dressed up too, in a nice black dress that had the tiniest bit of glitter around the skirt. I was happy to have this done with her. When I had to leave, I was definitely taking a CD of my pictures with me, so that I could remember this point in my life. The point where I was practically dead, but happier than I had been in eighteen years.

She looked at a few of the pictures of Donyel and I before we left, and was quiet until we reached the car. Then, she stopped before she unlocked the door. I was about to protest about it, but when I looked up at her she was wiping tears from her eyes, her own lips quivering. She smiled up at me sadly and took in a deep shuddering breath.

"Just six more days until you're graduated. Then, it won't be long until you're leaving me," she said with a sigh.

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**A/N: Well, of course his mom doesn't know in WHAT sense he'll be leaving her. She thinks 'leaving to go to school' and a small part of her is thinking 'leaving this earth' you know?**

**I'm sorry if there's any mistakes because I got my mom to put up this chapter on and then while I was babysitting (which I am still doing) I finished writing it! In fact, I was in such a good mood to write, that I wrote twice as much as I planned to! Originally, all this photography business wasn't going to be in there, and it would have been madly short.**

**OH, and I read Andy's birthday chapter and the last chapter, and I was actually laughing and squealing while I read. So I guess I don't hate my chapters, I actually really like them because I thought they were good to read and entertaining. Do you guys agree? I hope so. I don't want to sound like I'm full of myself.**

**I also urge you to read my livejournal every now and then, and leave a comment. I REALLY AM updating it there with news concerning my stories. I am so tired of people asking me to update Attraction and to please write a sequel. If you read that journal you would be up to date, and it only takes a second to find the subject title you're looking for. GOSH.**

**please review! I think there's only two chapters left to this, which means THERE'S AN AMAZING PLOTLINE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**(I just realised I said practically the exact same thing as the top AN concerning my livejournal.)**

**I bought a headband today that's covered in little while apples, because it reminded me of Twilight. Haha, I'm not a freak...**


	9. Bright Spring Morning

**A/N: After what everyone has said about loving Andy and him being their favourite original character, and loving Donyel and really feeling for them, and them being the greatest OC's and lovely things along those lines… I feel pretty bad for what I'm about to do in this chapter…**

**Just like to point out that I wrote this before Eclipse was released, even before it was released EARLY, so if you notice a very slight and probably unnoticeable similarity…. Stephenie copied me :D**

**This title is by Suburban Legends ... it's the slow version, too.**

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**Chapter Nine: Bright Spring Morning**

_The time is right to begin  
Let's get going once again  
For once in your life just let go  
I'm getting sick of everything  
Tired of what the next day brings  
What I need is for you to follow my lead  
_

I opened my eyes, after a moment of deep thought and smiled wider than I had in a long time, simply because Edward was curled right up next to me, his chin above my head, seemingly to be fast asleep.

It was, quite possibly _the most adorable thing_ I'd _ever_ seen. Of course, usually, the 'most adorable thing' list consisted of things Edward did for me.

I sighed happily and pushed myself closer to him, wrapping my arm around his back and sliding my hand up his tee shirt to rub circles in his soft skin. I could see his lips curl into a smile and he held me tighter, lowering his head to press his lips to mine in a soft kiss.

He smelt so good, right then, that I made sure I was as close to his chest as I could be, our legs tangled together, as I breathed him in, my nose tracing a line along his strong collarbone.

Edward shuddered against my touch and he chuckled softly, his eyes flickering open to look at me in a nearly sleepy way. He smiled and let out a loud and satisfied "Mmm" before snuggling down closer to me. I giggled and began playing with his hair a bit.

"What would you like for breakfast, my love?" I asked him happily. Edward snorted, his face nearly level with mine now. "Waffles… pancakes…"

"Mmmmm mountain lion," he murmured against my cheek. I giggled again and rolled away from him. Edward was fast and rolled right after me, clamping his arm strongly around my waist. I turned my head slowly to look at him through my hair and he was smiling widely, half his face still buried by the pillow and his bronze locks were falling playfully over his eyes.

"Don't get up," he moaned almost tiredly. I grinned and reached up to push his hair out of his face.

"Sorry lover, we've got to graduate today," I said before jumping out of the bed as fast as possible. Edward, of course, tried to grab me but only managed to flop in the bed for a moment before falling over the side. I turned around when I heard him crash to the floor to see him clutching the blankets that were still on the bed, his body sprawled across the floor and his feet still on the mattress. He let out a loud groan as I sprinted into the bathroom to take a quick shower. I came out wrapped in a towel, heading towards the closet.

_The sun is shinning bright outside  
I think I'll go for a ride  
I plan not to ever return  
Let's run away from here for good  
Forget this dusty neighborhood  
The open road is calling and begging for us  
_

"What are you doing?!" I heard Edward scream. I turned and looked at him, pointing towards the towel I was wearing. "Remove that filthy thing at once!" I grinned.

"I'm not having this conversation again Edward," and then I shut the closet door behind me. I dressed quickly and when I went back into our bedroom Edward still had an angry expression on his face as he stripped down to his underwear before going into the bathroom. I smiled at him brightly while he glared back.

Today we were graduating high school. For me, it would be my first time in Forks. I had donned a black dress that was simple and light, the skirt coming to my knees and there was a v shaped neckline without any sleeves, just thick straps. I listened to Edward sing in the shower while I brushed out my hair and put on some jewellery before pulling out our robes.

In twenty years Forks had at least gotten up the nerve to replace their hideous mustard yellow attire. These graduation robes were now a dull golden colour with a black collar. I pulled it over my head carelessly while I stared out the window at the Sol Duc River passing by the house.

I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist and the softest pair of lips press against my neck. I turned around to kiss Edward, twining my fingers through his wet hair. He'd put on a white dress shirt and black dress pants and was looking quite attractive if I did say so myself. He kissed me sweetly, smiling between each one. When he rested his forehead against mine I threw his robe over him quickly, smiling at my good work.

Which was leaving the thing tossed over his head.

"I'm not sure this is how it's supposed to go on," he said, his voice muffled through the cloth. I went downstairs to wait for him to finish up, which he did in record time. Edward smiled at me happily, slipping his hand into mine as we stepped into the bright, sunny day, a perfect day to watch my little brother graduate.

We drove to the school in near silence. We listened to the CD Andy had given me. A sad song was playing, but it was still beautiful in its own way. We pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car, right at a part where the song went very quiet.

_Go roll down the window  
Go crank up that radio  
Let's drive until we hit the sky  
It's not about where we go  
Let's start living life before we die_

We stepped out of the car and saw Donyel talking with a few of our classmates and their families. A bigger group of parents were standing over to one side, closer to the makeshift stage and chairs. I could see Andy's mother there.

We stepped up to Donyel who was turning to face us, smiling happily and excitedly. I reached out to hug her and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. Once hugs had been passes all around we asked Donyel where Andy was. His car was parked at the other end of the lot.

"He went around the side of the building to change into his robe and nicer clothes. He overslept and had to pick me up right away." I laughed at that, it sounded like my brother. We waved to Donyel and told her we'd see her soon, then walked down to the last of the brick buildings.

Edward and I were talking about our family's arrival when we rounded the corner. I had barely taken in the sight before me before I smelt it.

Blood.

And then I screamed, louder than I ever had as my heart sank into my stomach and my knees turned weak. Edward exclaimed in disgust and grabbed onto my shoulders to steady me.

Before us Victoria was standing in front of Andy, glaring at us. My little brothers' feet were dangling from the ground. He was hanging suspended in the air and from the bloody hole in his back protruded Victoria's hand, stained in his fragrant blood, spilling it onto the ground.

I could hear his strangled breathing, the last desperate beats of his heart as he turned his head to look at me. Then, I heard his thoughts in my head. _I love you, Bella. Sister._ I screamed again and ran forward to grab him as she dropped him to the ground.

_If you want you can stay  
But you'll regret the day  
That you didn't follow your dreams  
Imagine the wind in your hair  
Blowing away all of your cares  
So take my hand lets plan never to look back._

"That, was for James, you filthy slut," Victoria spat as I cradled my darling Andy in my arms, rocking back and forth. "If I can't have happiness then why should you." His blood was all over my golden robe and I was barely aware of the sound of rock against rock as Edward hurled himself onto Victoria, smashing her face with his powerful fist. I heard him snap her neck and rip her limbs to pieces, running through the woods to set them on fire. He came back and helped me to my feet. All of this happened in about a minute.

It had only taken a minute for my entire world to come crashing down. Edward helped me pick up Andy's limp body and we ran back into the parking lot, leaving a trail of his precious, life giving blood behind us. There was a crowd of people who were staring towards us. They had heard my screams and were ready to come and investigate.

At the front was Donyel who could clearly see the red spilling all over me and the ground. She could clearly see the face in my arms as I climbed into the backseat of Edward's car.

I watched the students crowding towards us as Edward quickly turned on the car and began pulling out. I watched Donyel's tortured face as she started crying and screaming almost as badly as I had. She fell against the nearest car for support, setting off the alarm which only added to the pandemonium around me.

_The sun is shinning bright outside  
I think I'll go for a ride  
I plan not to ever return  
Let's run away from here for good  
Forget this dusty neighborhood  
The open road is calling and begging for us_

The CD began playing again, letting out the one line of the song before it picked up pace and volume again. _Love is watching someone die. _I screamed again, but in pain. Pain for losing my brother, my only family. I wished I could cry. My head felt heavy with locked up tears. Because it didn't matter how quickly we got him to the hospital, I knew he was already gone.

I saw Andy's mother fighting her way through the crowd. She could only be thinking the worst, that something had happened her son. And, as we pulled away my eyes met hers and for the first time she knew exactly who Bella was.

_Go roll down the window  
Go crank up that radio  
Let's drive until we hit the sky  
It's not about where we will go  
Let's start living life before we die_

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**A/N: I really wish that never happened. I love Andy as much, if not more, than anyone else. He's so cute and sweet and awesome. I realise that some of you are quite angry with me, that this definitely isn't what you wanted to see. But, I have my reasons. If you want to get mad with me, go to my profile and follow the link in the news section first. It will explain everything you want to know as to why I did such a thing. **

**I hope you aren't too mad, and that you'll review and continue reading. There's only a couple of chapters left. **


	10. Andy You're A Star

**A/N: I can see you're upset, but luckily you understand where I'm coming from, so thank you all very very much. I'm trying to turn this into a somewhat happy ending still, although it wouldn't be as happy as if he were still alive.**

**So, I think I'm going to formally dedicate this story to the real life Donyel, who's Princess Pirates here on There's one chapter left and then we can move on to bigger and just-as-good projects.**

**This title is by The Killers, and I'd recommend listening to it, even if it doesn't really suit the story.**

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**Chapter Ten: Andy You're A Star**

_Leave your number on the locker and I'll give you a call  
Hey shut up, hey shut up, yeah  
Leave your legacy in gold on the plaques that line the hall  
Hey shut up, hey shut up, yeah_

I heard nurses and doctors yelling as soon as we'd gotten inside; Edward had called and given them advanced notice. They came running towards us in the parking lot, as we hurried to get Andy out of the car. They loaded his still and bloody form onto the stretcher and carried him inside, swiftly into emergency.

I fell to my knees in the parking lot. I pulled the stupid golden robe over my head and stared at the blood – his blood – covering my hands and the fabric. My shoulders were shaking with the silent sobs that could never be released. Edward knelt down and pulled me into a warm and soothing hug, kissing my head gently and whispering to me.

A car pulled in near us. Its engine had a familiar sound. I looked up dazedly to see Carlisle stepping outside of his now antiqued Mercedes.

"Ah, it's good to be back," he said, taking in a deep breath of the damp air. "What's wrong?" he asked gently when he saw me staring. "Where's your brother? Let me take a look at him, I think there's something I can do for his cancer!"

My throat closed in on a sob and I leaned forward to put pressure on my stomach to stop the pain. Edward whispered to Carlisle about what had happened and without another word he ran inside, thinking up an excuse that he was another one of Andy's doctors.

I wanted to scream because I couldn't understand how this could happen. Edward was still holding me tightly, his hands rubbing my arm. He rested his cheek in my hair and took a deep breath. I could feel his body barely shaking, but I knew that he too was crying.

I tried to stand up, Edward and I helped one another and then we walked slowly into the hospital, hand in hand. I could see the rest of the family pulling up, looking at us curiously. I ignored them and walked into the hospital, not taking in the burning chemical smell or the glaring white lights.

I sat down in the waiting room and Edward went to talk to the nurse at reception. The others came in and I could barely hear Edward explaining what had happened. Obviously he didn't want me more upset than I already was. For that, I was thankful.

I just kept staring at a pamphlet I had picked up that I was twirling in my fingers, I didn't wait anxiously or in fear, because I knew he was gone already. I just waited for them to come out and confirm what I knew. Carlisle wanted to help as much as he could, but he must've known there was nothing he could have done.

I felt four pairs of strong arms wrap around me at once and I let out a small grunt of surprise. The pamphlet was immediately dropped and I smiled widely as I felt my brothers and sisters shaking from crying and whispering how sorry they were. I couldn't even cry anymore. I just smiled and held my family, glad that they cared so much for me.

I felt my phone vibrating against my legs and the other backed off so that I could pick it up. I didn't look at the screen when I flicked it open. Everyone I loved was here with me, there were a very few other people it could have been.

"Bella?" I heard Esme's voice call into the phone. "I'm at the school honey, are you and Edward alright? They're cancelling graduation for a later date." I felt my chest give a sickening twist.

"We're alright, Esme. Victoria came, and she killed my brother." I heard her gasp.

"Oh no… Bella honey, I am so _so_ sorry dear." I could hear the sadness in her voice. She was such a good mother to me.

"I know. I wish you could have met him. We're all at the hospital now." She said a few more things and then I hung up. I heard the door to the emergency room open with a great cry as Donyel came running in as fast as she could, her robe clutched in her hand and the skirts of her white dress tangling around her knees.

"Bella!" she nearly screamed when she saw me. I stood up, now I needed to cry again. She flung herself into my arms and we sobbed into each other heavily. Edward came up and rubbed both of our backs and we pulled him into the hug as well. Our brothers and sisters watched on sadly.

I heard more quickened footsteps and when we looked up we saw Andy's mother, completely distressed. She looked at Donyel's red, tear stained face and I saw her knees begin to buckle.

"Where is my son?" she called to us frantically.

The entire room was deathly silent. The other patients stared at us in horror. They knew that their problems were nothing compared to this. The nurses at the reception area were even crying, watching us.

It was that point that Carlisle came back out, looking at all of us sadly. He stepped forward, Andy's mother, Donyel, Edward and myself moved up closer to him, all expecting the news he came to give.

"I'm sorry," he said. I thought I heard Donyel's throat close in, she began sobbing in my arms immediately. "He was gone before he got here. There was nothing we could do." Andy's mother was horror stricken as Edward and I stared blankly at the floor in front of us.

"What happened to him?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Shot," Carlisle supplied. It was probably the only thing that the surgeons could conclude. Andy's mother didn't scream. Her eyes watered and I heard her sob quietly, but it was an ugly sound. Donyel turned around to face her and this time; Donyel was the one to hold the victim. I'd never seen anyone so defeated.

"I'm sorry ma'am," I said to her. "I know I've never really known you that well, but I loved your son. He _was_ a brother to me." She looked at me curiously, still crying. I knew that she knew who I was, but I don't think she wanted to believe. I turned with my husband's hand securely in mine. I faced my family, giving them a small smile and together we walked out of the hospital.

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Andy was buried three days later. It was a cloudy day, with a slight drizzle. I think he would have like it. This way, I got to send him off, down into the ground next to my grave, and our father. I wore a veil. Edward stood next to me, a stone statue. Our family was behind us, and Donyel and her family stood right next to us. Andy's mother smiled sadly at the headstones of the two men she loved the most. 

Two days after that was our graduation. It was a bright, but cloudy day, as was expected, so I thankfully was allowed to attend that as well.

Before the ceremony was over, they surprised me by having a special service in memory of my brother. They had a blown up picture of him in his striking tuxedo, and Donyel in her breathtaking dress. It was the handsomest picture of him I'd seen. He was smiling brightly at Donyel who had her arms wrapped around him and was looking up at him. My lip quivered slightly, but I told myself not to cry again. It'd do no good.

I looked at Edward who smiled at me lovingly and rubbed my shoulder. He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss against my hair. I listened as Andy's teachers said a few words about him, listing out some of their fondest memories of the smart young boy.

The principal spoke, revealing, probably for the first time to everyone that he even had cancer. A few of his classmates looked even more depressed, but I could see that the teachers obviously admire him for being such a strong boy.

The last person to speak was Donyel. I was so happy to see her up and about, smiling as brightly as she did everyday.

"I'd never really know how to start this," she said, "If it weren't for Andy. Aside from being the greatest friend I've ever known, Andy was also, the greatest tutor." There were a few chuckles, which I'm sure is exactly what she would have wanted.

Despite his fear and sadness towards his disease, Andy wouldn't want so many people sad about him.

"I never knew about his leukemia until a few weeks ago. I had always known that he was a bit sicklier than average, but a lot of people are like that nowadays. Andy was always so full of life, he was the smartest kid I knew, he was always ready to do anything, and you'd never believe he had so much to worry about.

"I don't think that I can be sad about Andy for an excruciating length of time. I mean, sure, whenever I think of him, I'm going to miss him. The thing is, I know that wherever he is now, he's so happy.

"Yeah, that sounds a little cheesy, even clichéd, but now, Andy doesn't have to worry about all these different treatments that don't work, all the tests and needles, the hospital rooms. Andy is somewhere white and fluffy, maybe, somewhere where that junk doesn't matter because he's healed. Right now, Andy's probably watching us and laughing because we're all so choked up about missing him."

I could see it was hard for her to keep going, but she kept that bright face and soldiered on. "Right now, Andy is sitting with his father, and they're talking about how wonderful his big sister is, and how beautiful his mother is. Right now Andy is with his greatest hero, one he hasn't seen in years." She looked right at me and smiled.

"Andy loved his family. He loved his sister, that he barely knew, more than anyone I can even imagine. He loved his parents so much that he called in on time, every time. And, he loved me.

"In the last weeks before his death I saw more life in Andy that I've ever known, and all of this love and happiness spread into me. Those were the happiest weeks of my life.

"Even now, though he's gone, I can still be happy. I know that we've seen the best of him, and that he's not really gone. We can't worry and wonder about him, because he's alright. Because he doesn't have to constantly wonder which day is his last, he's there until we go up to join him, and I'm sure he'll have a great party for us too."

I knew that I'd never see my brother throwing the party in the sky, but I knew that I'd always be invited, whether that took be a hundred years, or a thousand.

"This year, Andy's death will be only one on a list of over a hundred teenage casualties. It's a guarantee. To everyone else, this won't really matter, but to us, to me, this is one of the most important times of my life. I love you, Andy." I saw her look at the picture of them before placing a bouquet of roses on top of the table.

There was a roaring round of applause. I jumped out of my seat to give her the biggest hug I could manage without cracking her limbs.

"I love you, Don," I whispered in her ear. She smiled and giggled, though it sounded like a choked sob.

"I love you too, Bella. Thank you so much for being here." I smiled at her and wiped away those tears that were giving her away. "What are you guys going to do now?"

Edward smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist. "I think we're going to take it easy for a little while," he said. "Maybe we'll go visit Paris… Milan…" I giggled and Donyel smiled at us warmly.

"I wish you guys the best of luck!" she said, hugging me again. "We're going to keep in touch, right?" I nodded.

"Of course we are. You're like my family!" I told her. She laughed and we said our final goodbyes before she headed back to her family. The rest of the Cullen clan came up to Edward and I, smiling happily.

"That was beautiful, Bella," Esme told me. "Your brother seemed like an amazing young man."

"He was," I said with certainty. Edward nodded. We both smiled, thoughts of Andy running through his head. "I wish you guys could have met him."

"He looks so much like you," Rosalie said dreamily, staring at the beautiful picture.

"I was there, for those pictures. Edward and I have more with him; we'll have to look at them when we get home." Esme and Carlisle looked eager to have a look at my biological brother.

I rushed to give Donyel one last goodbye and a swift kiss on the cheek. Who knew when I'd see that awesome girl again?

We all started piling into our respective cars.

"What do we do after this?" Emmett called to us. I shrugged.

"Paris? Milan?" Alice looked eager, Edward merely smiled. I was planning on treating him to some alone time. He deserved it for being simply wonderful.

We drove out of town in a line. In our car, Andy's CD was playing softly, his very favourite song as we drove from Forks, definitely not for the last time.

_Cause Andy, you're a star  
In nobody's eyes but mine  
Andy, you're a star  
In nobody's eyes but mine  
Andy, you're a star  
In nobody's eyes  
In nobody's eyes but mine  
_

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A/N: HOLY JEEZ. THAT'S IT. Last chapter there, folks. This was supposed to be two chapters, but I figured that after a wait that long I'd just be mean, so I gave you this super fantabulous and sucky ending! I think it's alright. 

**This is the end to my very first series! Probably my last. If you'll excuse the sequel to Attraction. Which, there will be news up in my livejournal, pronto. Go check it out. **

**I hoped you liked it as much as I did, and I hope you've stuck with it right to the end! Great big thanks to my special friends: foreverinlove17, saranicole, The Masochistic Lion, Charlotte Cullen.**

**Extra special thanks to such people as the lovely Emilie Whoa, ebtwisty9, shobbs, smileon, MartaSwan I don't even know who. I love you all. I know I've had several regulars. If I've forgotten you and you reviewed, I'll let you know.**

**Peace, lovelies.**


	11. Alternate Ending

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your lovely comments. I'm so so so sorry that I made people cry before they went to school or during their classes. If it makes you feel any better, I kept NOT writing it because I'd get so sad whenever I sat down to work on it, and then I just purposely distracted myself to get away from it. Hah.**

**Here is the alternate ending which a couple of you asked for, and which I promised real life Donyel, and thanks to Emilie Whoa for helping me figure out how to keep Andy alive!**

**Peace, bruthas.**

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**Chapter Eleven: Alternate Ending**

I heard more quickened footsteps and when we looked up we saw Andy's mother, completely distressed. She looked at Donyel's red, tear stained face and I saw her knees begin to buckle.

"Where is my son?" she called to us frantically.

The entire room was deathly silent. The other patients stared at us in horror. They knew that their problems were nothing compared to this. The nurses at the reception area were even crying, watching us.

"He was attacked, ma'am," I tired to supply. She turned to look at me, her eyes red and her expression nearly crazed.

That was when Carlisle came back out. To our delight he had a wide smile on his face. He moved up to us immediately, glancing at myself, Donyel, and Andy's mother in turn. "He's going to be alright," he told us happily.

I couldn't believe it. I wanted to scream, jump and dance. I wanted to run in there and kiss that boy, he was so amazing he made it through a vampire attack. "He was shot, but only in his side. It missed any organs, but it did break a rib. He'll pull through. He's resting now, but he should be up in a few hours.

Then, I did scream. I grabbed Edward who was laughing so happily and kissed him full on his mouth. He picked me up and spun me around. I knew he was as happy as I was. I heard laughter from the rest of my family as they gave Carlisle hugs and kisses and I looked to see Donyel and Andy's mother crying with happiness. They held each other and just sobbed. They looked so relieved.

I ran up to Donyel next and squeezed her tightly, carefully though, so as not to break any bones. Then I looked to my step-mother. She must have known, somehow, who I was. But, in a way I was still unrecognizable.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Swan," I said, holding out a hand. "I love your son very much; he _is _a brother to me." She smiled and swatted away my hand, instead moving forward to hug me tightly.

"Don't be so formal dear," she whispered in my ear. "You saved my boys life. As far as I am concerned, you really are part of my family." I smiled so widely then. I was sure my face would crack. Donyel wrapped her arms around my waist and squealed. I laughed with her. This was one of the best moments of my life.

A few hours later Andy woke up. And, since everyone else had gone home to rest, Donyel and I were the very first to see him up and awake. He was lying on the bed nearly motionless, staring out the window. All sorts of things were strapped up to him, including an IV, heart monitor, and blood. I was happy that the scent didn't bother me.

"How're you feeling little brother?" I asked him gently. He turned to me and smiled widely.

"Definitely one of the more exciting days of my life," he said. His voice was a croak, and he still seemed tired. The three of us laughed. "Thank you so much, Bella," he mumbled. "For everything. You and Edward really saved me."

I poked his nose lightly. "Don't worry. You've got an eternity to pay me back for it." Andy chuckled lightly. Donyel looked at us confused, but only for a second.

"I'm so glad to have my sister here with me," Andy murmured. My stomach lurched. I looked at Donyel from the corner of my eye. Now she looked _really_ confused. Andy seemed to realize his mistake. I couldn't blame him. He was hopped up on painkillers and quite a bit exhausted. "Oh… sorry…" I smiled.

"Don't worry about it." Then, I turned to Donyel and explained everything that had happened to me since I moved to Forks twenty years ago. Meeting Edward, my true love, and developing the same disease that was killing my brother.

I told her about our life after I was changed, about living in England and Rome. About The Cullens encounter with Victoria and James and why Andy had been attacked. Everything, right up until I decided to visit my grave and met Andy. I wasn't afraid to tell her what I was. Eventually, she'd get over it. And, if Andy was going to become like me, maybe she might want to see him from time to time.

"You're a vampire?" she clarified after everything. I had even explained eating habits. I nodded. "That is so…" unbelievable? "AWESOME!" I was a little taken aback, but then I just laughed loudly as she jumped forward to give me a hug.

"So you're the real Bella Swan…" she murmured. "That's a _very_ romantic story, what Edward did for you. I can hardly believe it's real! That's quite a guy you've got." I grinned.

"Yeah, and I've got him forever!" we both giggled. Andy groaned and rolled his eyes.

"So that person who attacked Andy was…"

"Victoria," I said, just as Edward walked in to start his visit.

"Hey Andy! Get a little beat up?" he joked. Donyel squealed and jumped up, throwing herself and the poor, unsuspecting vampire. Edward grunted when she clamped her arms around him and looked at me surprised. I mouthed the words 'she knows' and he looked like he might have paled.

"YOU'RE THE GREATEST GUY EVER!" she nearly yelled at him. I swear, Edward would have blushed. "GOSH. I KNEW YOU LOVED BELLA, BUT HOLY JEEZ. YOU MUST REALLY, REALLY BE CRAZY ABOUT HER. YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE…" Edward smiled at Donyel and looked over her shoulder at me, that look that was just for me. Andy chuckled again and coughed lightly.

"So when are you planning on changing?" I asked Andy quietly while Donyel gushed over how 'awesome' her friend was. Andy turned his head back to mine and his smile reached those sleepy eyes of his.

"Your… father… Dr. Cullen? He told me that he's found a new kind of treatment for leukemia. The people that it's been used on have all pulled through successfully. He said that this kind of treatment is still sort of new, only a couple years old. It wasn't around when you were sick, so even if you had more time, they wouldn't have had anything this advanced. But, I think I'm going to try it, just to see." My chest felt so empty, my heart should be racing right now.

"If it doesn't work… you guys are staying for a little while, right? Well… then I guess I'll get changed. But, if it does? I think, Bella I'd just might want to stay a human. I'd get to live the sort of life you're supposed to live…" Ah. That's my boy.

"That's exactly what you should want. I wanted this life so that I could be with Edward, but it was also to keep me from having nobody at all. Look at what you have," I motioned towards Donyel and the window, out towards the sunny forest. "You're making the right choice."

His eyes were fixed on the girl who was poking my husbands chest when he said "I know. I really, really do."

* * *

A year had come and passed.

Edward and I had begun attending university in Seattle, night and day classes. I was sure I had even seen some of our old friends with their children and spouses around the city, but they were sure not to recognize us.

I sat at the window to our apartment, staring out at the busy street below. A few people glanced up at the old building, catching my eye and staring for a moment before moving on. I heard soft piano music click on the CD that was playing. There was a coffee shop right across the street, a flower shop next door to that. I watched Edward walk down the street, back from his last class. He was wearing a navy blue sweater and jeans with a messenger bag strapped over his shoulder. His hair was tousled from the wind and his hands were shoved into his pockets.

I pushed open the large window a little bit, so that maybe I'd get a better sound of his thoughts. I knew it didn't really make a difference, but I felt closer to him.

In his head was music. He was humming along with a song he had heard earlier that day. And, he seemed very happy. He stopped at the coffee shop and stared down the street. People passed him on both sides and took in his beauty. I smiled as I watched his hair playing in the breeze.

It was another moment before he moved again, and this time it was to go to the flower shop. My stomach lurched in excitement. I hoped that he might get me something. It would have been so terribly sweet. I heard him order a bouquet full of carnations and lilies, accented with all sorts of different flowers. I watched as it was wrapped gently.

"Got a special girl in mind?" the young man working there asked. Edward stopped at the entrance of the store and turned to him, smiling.

"Oh yes," he said softly. "I've got my girl." I sighed, so happy right at that moment. Edward looked up and saw me leaning out the window. I smiled at him and he smiled back. The young man followed Edward's gaze before he left and came into the building. I shut the window and waited for the noisy elevator to pull up to our floor.

Edward came in, all smiles. He dropped his bag on the floor and passed me the bouquet with a flourish. I giggled at him before wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a well earned kiss.

"What are you so happy about anyway," I murmured against his lips, dropping the flowers on the table. Edward brushed his mouth along my jaw and neck, sending thrills through his spine.

"I got a call from your brother today…" he whispered. I gasped and pushed back on him to look him in the eyes.

"Are you serious?!" Edward grinned even wider and nodded.

"He wants us to come and visit, says he has some _very_ exciting news." I took off in a dash towards out bedroom and began throwing as many things as I could into a suitcase. Once I had filled it with mine and Edwards clothing I ran back out and picked the car keys off the table.

"Why are you in such a hurry," he whined, following me into the elevator.

"Come on Edward, you _must_ know what this news is about?" He smirked.

"Maybe… maybe not…" I frowned and poked his side. "Ow! Now I'm really not telling you."

We made it into Forks by suppertime heading immediately for my old house rather than dropping by to see the family. I saw Andy's car parked in the driveway and water was dripping from the tap that the hose was connected to. I heard a shrill cry and then booming laughter as a very familiar face came around the corner.

"Don!" I called. She looked up, her soaked brown hair fell all around her shoulders. She grinned and dodged behind a tree, pressing her fingers to her lips. I saw Andy come around the corner, hose in hand. He looked around carefully for any signs of her.

Just as I started to laugh Donyel jumped out from behind the tree, yelled and loosed her water balloon, right into Andy's face.

It bounced off, and landed on the grass, unbroken. Andy smirked and shot water at her with the hose. She laughed and screamed and ran closer to him, holding onto the handle and spraying water all over my previously dry brother.

"Andy!" I called. He looked up and I saw his eyes light up. He smiled and waved, motioning for us to join them. Edward took my hand and looked down into my eyes. _I know you'll like what he has to say_ I heard, and couldn't help but smile.

"Yah!!!" The two of them cried. I looked up just in time to see Donyel fire another balloon right at Edward, and Andy picked the one off the ground and fired it at me. Only, when they hit us square in the chests, they actually burst.

I gasped loudly before racing up to them and snatching the hose, spraying them all over. Andy and Donyel laughed loudly and happily, and then both of them jumped on me, knocking me to the ground.

"I missed you!" Andy called in my ear. "I'm so happy you're here!"

"I know! I've missed you too. Give me your news, boy, before I soak you even more." Andy grinned and helped me to my feet.

"I went to see Carlisle yesterday and, I am officially cancer free!" I screamed. Really loudly. And jumped around. This was the best news ever. Edward laughed with Donyel and Andy at my reaction.

I scooped my brother and his girlfriend into a tight hug. "I love you guys so much! This makes me _so_ happy!"

We went inside, changing in the laundry room into dryer clothes. Edward made a joke of slapping my backside with his wet shirt, but then I just took his clothes away and left him there.

Only for a little while. I came back for him eventually.

We went out for a drive to Port Angeles, like one of the first times the four of us were together. We talked the whole way about how college had been for each of us, how we thought next year would go. I could tell by the look Andy gave Donyel every time he watched her, that they would be together for a long time. And, it would be the happiest time he'd ever have.

**

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**A/N: See. Alternate ending. So, choose whichever one you like the best. For me, it is personally the previous one. This one didn't actually happen in my head. This is just to appease some people who may still be in denial.**

**I much prefer the original ending now that I think about it, but it's fun to see how things may have turned out otherwise. Anyway. I love you guys, have fun waiting for me to update again! A oneshot will be up eventually.**


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